IMPLEMENTING A LARGE-SCALE
GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM
IN PHILADELPHIA
SEE PAGE 48.

SPECIAL FEATURE:
The Public Works
Heroic Response to the
California Wildfires, p. 4

For more information visit:

snow.apwa.net

MAY 6-9

The APWA Reporter, the official magazine of
the American Public Works Association, covers
all facets of public works for APWA members
including industry news, legislative actions,
management issues and emerging technologies.

February 2018

/

Vol. 85, No. 2

WATER RESOURCES ISSUE

INSIDE APWA

16

2

Presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Message

4

Record Wildfires, Unprecedented PW Response

10

Call issued for nominations to APWA Board of Directors

14

Technical Committee News

16

The Show for Snow Is Racing to the Hoosier State

19

City of Coral Springs Public Works Department becomes 121st accredited agency

21

CPFP Certification: Bridging the gap from private to public fleet management

23

Social media for small communities

26

Could this be what employees experience in your workplace?

30

Recognize Your Leaders: Christopher L. Wannamaker

32

In & Around APWA

COLUMNS

43

33

Washington Insight

35

GAC Insight

38

Imagination to Innovation

40

Open Your Winter Toolbox

42

Leading from the Frontlines

FEATURES

67

45

Advocacy and funding Michigan infrastructure

48

From Pilot Scale to City Scale:
Implementing a large-scale green infrastructure program in Philadelphia

51

Environmental Impact Bonds: Building on DC Waterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s approach to
deploy innovative public works projects

that were promised during the 2016
campaign. Infrastructure is a nonpartisan issue that Americans support.
Infrastructure professionals must once
more get off the sidelines and work to
encourage our legislators and leaders
to exercise responsible stewardship of
public infrastructure.

ll of us who work in public
infrastructure know that
investment is needed in
the water treatment plants,
expressways, bridges, airports
and much more that support the
United States’ economy, public welfare, and quality of life. The American
Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
has famously identified a $2 trillion
infrastructure funding shortfall, and
it is common knowledge that our
nation cannot thrive without closing
the gap. In comparison to our transportation infrastructure, which we
see every day, water infrastructure is a
hidden lifeline that we only see when
we turn on the tap, flush the toilet
or when our fire officials need it. We
expect water services to work flawlessly; it’s therefore imperative that we
fund them accordingly.

Three issues are presently paramount
regarding the water sector:
Funding already-authorized programs. Programs like the Water
Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA), the Drinking Water
State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), and
the Clean Water State Revolving Fund
(CWSRF) provide essential support to
communities and states that are seeking to maintain and modernize their
water infrastructure. These programs
have already been authorized by law;
however, some need to be reauthorized
and updated to realize their full potential, and the funding for the programs
needs to be reaffirmed annually. Continuing to communicate this need to
our legislators is vital.

Of concern, then, is the shortage
of action in Washington to support
public infrastructure development and
renewal. While investment in public
infrastructure is a broadly popular
goal, and was a major plank of President Trump’s campaign, the federal
government has yet to act to provide
the billions of dollars in investment
2

APWA Reporter

Official Magazine of the
American Public Works Association

/

February 2018

Smart development of P3 legislation
for the water sector. Public-private
partnerships have been used to great

effect in the transportation sector.
Leaders in Washington have shown
clear enthusiasm for P3’s across all
public infrastructure projects, but the
water sector has traditionally shown
greater resistance to P3’s. However, P3’s
can work for many public water projects, and would be even more effective
if legislation includes designated funds
and requirements for early engineering
design advancement for public owners
of new P3 projects. Direct funding for
engineering will accelerate P3 project
implementation, improve cost efficiency, and support U.S. job growth. It
should be noted that while P3’s are an
important tool in driving investment
in water infrastructure, they are not
a solution for all funding problems.
Rural areas have difficulty attracting private investment, and will still
require federal resources to make necessary infrastructure investments.

Protecting tax exemption for bonds
that fund public infrastructure.
The longstanding tax exemption for
municipal bonds and advance refunding bonds is critical to local governments looking to finance projects to
grow and strengthen their economies.
These bonds allow governments to
take advantage of market conditions to
finance debt. Throughout the recent
tax reform debate, these financing
mechanisms were on the table to be
cut. APWA and like-minded associations worked to preserve financing
mechanisms like Private Activity Bonds
(PAB’s); and while certain provisions in
the recently passed tax reform package,
such as the elimination of tax-exempt
advance refunding bonds and tax
credit bonds issued after December 31,
2017, might negatively impact infrastructure investment, we must persist
in our advocacy efforts. It is a necessity

for the public works community to
continue reaching out to legislators to
protect critical financing avenues, and
to push for additional support in any
federal infrastructure bill that may be
enacted into law.
Because we are on the frontlines providing essential services to our communities, the men and women of public
works are often first to see and experience the impact of federal funding
decisions. That’s why it’s vitally important that we make our voices heard. To
join the effort, visit the AWPA website
Government Affairs page and find out
how you can get involved. Also, check
out the article in this month’s issue
about a creative approach to funding
in Michigan. Together, we can support
smart maintenance and growth of our
water systems and the entire infrastructure that supports our communities
and our economy.

AMERICAN PUBLIC WORKS ASSOCIATION
Your Comprehensive Public Works Resource

Mission Statement: The American Public Works Association supports those who
operate, improve and maintain public works and infrastructure through
advocacy, education & member engagement.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
PRESIDENT
Bo Mills, PWLF
Director of Public Works
City of Germantown, TN

stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s legendary Wine Country north
of San Francisco. In early December,
flames whipped by hurricane-force
winds in southern California ignited
the Thomas Fire, which spread
through drought-plagued Ventura and
Santa Barbara Counties. At 281,893
acres it became the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest
recorded wildfire. Smaller, but still
dangerous, wildfires also broke out in
Los Angeles County.

W

ildfires raged across much
of California in late 2017,
setting unwelcome new
records. In October, 43
people died and more
than 181,000 acres were destroyed
when 14 separate fires struck the
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Throughout the stricken areas, public
works professionals responded with
non-stop dedication and passion, thus
ensuring crucial, 24/7 services that
enabled other first responders to do
their jobs. Here are the remarkable
stories of how PW departments in five
cities and counties performed, along
with tested advice for almost any
emergency situation.

coordinated our efforts with Cal
Fire.” That organization is California’s
department for emergency response and
resource protection; it has an extensive
presence throughout the state.
“In a wildfire, our first tasks are to keep
the roads cleared so firefighters can get
in to do their job, and the roads closed
to the public to keep both firefighters
and the public safe,” he continues.
“Then, when the immediate danger
is over, we must get the roads cleared,
inspected for damage and repaired so
driving conditions are safe for both
firefighters and the public.”
Stangland’s car is equipped with
a radio that allows him to set up a
mobile Emergency Operations Center
until he gets to the office. This provides dispatch centers with a single
number to call for roads assistance.
“I consider public works to be a first
responder,” he emphasizes. That
night, however, as he drove to his
office, he turned a corner and ran into
a wall of flames from what turned out
to be the Tubbs Wildfire that later
destroyed much of Santa Rosa. He
drove 70 miles around it to reach the
Napa Public Works yard in Yountville.
When no firefighters were available to help protect
an 1872 landmark schoolhouse, David Cardwell,
Napa County Assistant Roads Superintendent
(shown here), and Andrew Webb, Lead Worker,
took a fire truck to fight the blaze—and saved the
historic structure. (Credit: Steve Stangland, Napa
County Public Works)

When he arrived, fire was already
bearing down. He and his 25-person
crew moved their trucks and tools to
the grounds of the California Veterans’ Home, several miles away. Crew
members then returned to the PW yard
where, with five engine companies,
two water trucks and a bulldozer, they
worked to save the buildings. Using
backfire, a technique that holds back
an advancing fire by setting smaller
fires to clear the area it is moving
toward, the fire burned up to the buildings—and ultimately spared them.

SPONSE
Napa County Roads:
A Proactive Attitude
Steve Stangland, Public Works Superintendent for Napa County, likes to say
“You can’t get there until we’ve been
there.” When at least five wildfires
burst into flames the night of October
8, his watchword immediately gained
new meaning.
A 22-year public works veteran, with
18 years as a firefighter, Stangland is

responsible for keeping the county’s
450 miles of roads and 79 bridges both
open and safe.

By the time the Atlas, Tubbs and
Nuns Wildfires were fully contained
in late October, they had consumed
almost 143,000 acres in Napa County and destroyed over 700 homes
and buildings.

At 10:30 p.m., he received a call at
home that the Atlas Wildfire had
broken out in eastern Napa and was
spreading fast.
“We take a proactive approach,” says
Stangland. “As soon as we learn about
an emergency, we automatically
dispatch crews—in this case, we
www.apwa.net

Until December 6, Napa roads crews
worked seven days a week to make
county roads safe. “During a disaster,

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5

With the wildfires closing in on the Napa County PW roads lot in Yountville, the roads crew
saved the buildings with the help of five engine companies, two water trucks and a bulldozer.
(Credit: Steve Stangland)

Works. He was sworn in at the Emergency Operations Center (EOC).

we try to maintain 12-hour rotations,”
says Stangland, “but when things go to
hell in a handbasket, this plan goes out
the window.”

“We didn’t have the luxury of time to
start evacuations ahead of the fire,”
he recalls, “so transit buses became
evacuation vehicles for roughly 15,000
people.” Besides local residents,
they carried hotel guests, students at
Sonoma State University and youths at
Juvenile Hall.

Cal Fire also provided eight so-called
“hand” crews of 18 people each to
remove burnt or hazardous trees
from roadsides.
“With the earthquake in 2014, plus
storms and fires since then, disaster
response is our new normal,” Stangland observes. “I can’t say enough
about our dedicated roads staff—I just
have the privilege of leading them.”

When firefighters couldn’t assemble
in a pre-selected parking lot because
the fast-moving fire had destroyed the
large, adjacent Kmart, Sonoma roads
employees became their first responders, helping firefighters to go where
they were needed. The county workers
joined with others from Cal Fire and
Pacific Gas & Electric to remove blackened trees and destroyed utility poles.

Sonoma County:
When Moments Counted
At 9:45 p.m. on October 8, the Tubbs
wildfire began in Napa and by 2:00
a.m. had raced 14 miles to Santa Rosa
in Sonoma County. There, burning
embers ignited flames a half mile
ahead, forcing whole neighborhoods
to flee. October 9 was also Johannes
Hoevertsz’ first day as Sonoma’s new
Director of Transportation and Public
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February 2018

Hoevertsz says that trees and vegetation burned alongside more than 90
miles of county roads, virtually immobilizing ground transportation. With
no time to spare, the County Super-

/

www.apwa.net

visor waived the customary public
bidding process so Hoevertsz could hire
contractors as quickly as possible to
clear the debris.
Despite the unprecedented magnitude
and speed of the fire, the Sonoma
County emergency plan worked “as
well as could have been anticipated,”
he observes. “For the first six days,
we worked 24/7 and the teamwork
was incredible.” He says that as the
fire raged and destroyed thousands of
local homes, now-homeless employees
clamored to return to work. He hurriedly signed purchase orders for new
uniforms and boots so people could get
back on the job as soon as possible.
The Tubbs fire was contained on
October 29, after claiming 43 lives and
burning through almost 37,000 acres.
In Santa Rosa, it destroyed 5,100 homes
as well as hotels, a vineyard, most businesses and local landmarks.
Because of the extraordinary destruction, FEMA is handling debris removal

along with the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers and the California Office of
Emergency Services. Thousands of tons
are being moved daily to the County
landfill, which is creating two unavoidable new problems: Bottlenecks at the
landfill are adding to traffic congestion, and the life of the landfill is being
significantly shortened.
These days, Sonoma County Public
Works is concentrating on recovery:
continued debris removal, planning
for erosion control, and new traffic
lights and road signs. The department
is also updating its emergency plan
to provide for redundant telecommunications; after losing 70 cell towers
almost at once, Hoevertsz and his staff
keenly appreciate being able to text
in an emergency. Also, staff contact
information is continually updated,
along with that of contractors, and
confirmation that procurement contracts are in place.
Hoevertsz says the Tubbs Wildfire—
which combined with other area fires to
become the Sonoma County Complex
Fire—has made him even more aware
of the importance of what he does.
“We don’t know what’s next,” he says,
“but we have to keep our forces wellequipped, well-trained and prepared.
It’s not just about paving potholes.”

Santa Barbara City & County:
Thoughtful Planning,
Long-Term Recovery

Public Works Director for the City of
Santa Barbara.

and vacuuming up the thick deposits
of ash throughout the picturesque
town. Bjork’s department, which operates downtown parking, temporarily
lifted fees to bring people back.

Because many essential PW employees live in Ventura and other towns
already affected by the Thomas fire,
the City arranged to temporarily lodge
them close to work. Reservoirs were
checked to ensure they were full, and
water lines were examined to confirm
they were operating properly. Bjork’s
department also staged emergency
generators throughout the city and
readied street crews.

At the County PW, McGolpin says
cleanup immediately began on a dozen
watersheds affected by the fire, along
with deepening 10 debris basins. On
the steep Santa Ynez Mountain hillsides, transportation and road crews
began clearing culverts and removing
fallen trees and rocks from potential
debris flows. After a fire, this is a vital,
ongoing procedure, especially between
winter rainstorms.

“The County of Santa Barbara is
responsible for the Emergency Operations Center, so our priority was to
safeguard that it could operate 24/7 as
long as necessary with enough people
who had the necessary knowledge
and ability,” states Scott McGolpin,
P.E., County Public Works Director. “Holiday vacations were already
planned, and it was critical to have
enough experienced people to staff
the 12-hour shifts.”

In early January, less than three weeks
after the end of the Thomas fire in
Santa Barbara County, heavy rains
lashed the burn-scarred, unstable
hillsides. The storms triggered floods
and torrents of cement-like mudslides,
especially in the community of Montecito, killing more than 20 people at
time of publication.

Ventura: Unprecedented Public
Works Support

“On December 14, as the Santa Ana
winds pushed the fire closer, we began
mobilizing and putting employees on
call,” recalls Bjork. “The next three
days, December 15 through 17, were
the most active for us, with mandatory
evacuations in place, the police and
National Guard handling roadblocks,
and the County keeping roads open for
the firefighters.”

At 9:06 p.m. on December 4, when she
first learned about the Thomas Wildfire in neighboring Santa Paula, Mary
Joyce Ivers, Fleet and Facilities Manager
for City of Ventura Public Works, was
attending a City Council meeting. Ivers
was there as acting Public Works Director since her boss, Tully Clifford, was
out of town.

The smoke and ash from what became
the record-setting Thomas Wildfire
arrived in Santa Barbara soon after the
flames ignited on December 4 about
45 miles away. This gave public works
departments in both the City and
County of Santa Barbara more than a
week to prepare before the conflagration raged close enough to threaten
local lives and homes.

She adds that proactive communication with the community was fundamental to the City’s PW response.
Its website was updated frequently,
along with information through social
media. “An emergency situation like
a wildfire is a very emotional, stressful
time for people,” she notes. “They want
immediate access to information, and
they need to know the city is thoughtfully replying to their concerns while
also taking care of their critical needs.”

The fire was racing southwest toward
Ventura, driven by hurricane-force
Santa Ana winds and burning
through one bone-dry acre every second. Ivers quickly left the meeting,
notified her staff and joined Ventura’s
Emergency Operations Center (EOC)
at Police/Fire Headquarters.

“About 10 years ago, after two other
wildfires destroyed hundreds of
homes and structures, we developed
a thoughtful evacuation and
emergency operating plan that we now
implemented,” says Rebecca Bjork,

By December 18, with the Thomas Fire
contained in the City and County—
and no loss of lives or homes—each
PW department started recovery. The
City began assessing smoke damage

As the wildfire continued to grow,
police evacuated 27,000 residents. The
EOC focused its efforts on assisting
police with street closures, especially in
the city’s hillside neighborhoods. The

www.apwa.net

At 10:00 p.m., Ivers was able to briefly
call her husband, Jack. He had already
left their Ventura home with their two
dogs and the family’s PC hard drive.

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At 281,893 acres the Thomas Fire, which spread through drought-plagued
Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, became California’s largest
recorded wildfire. In its wake is a sight that has become increasingly
familiar: the burned-out carcasses of homes, land, and cars, some of
which were missing their rims after they melted in the fire.

oceanside city of 106,000, located 100
miles northwest of Los Angeles, backs
up to the Los Padres National Forest.

to help. Administrators made coffee
and served food—much of it donated
by local restaurants that were still
operating—to the firefighters. When
trucks returned to refuel and give crews
a short break, fleet employees washed
grimy windows—even posting directions to restrooms.

That first night, the entire city lost
power because of the high winds and
spreading flames. Public Works focused
on the critical need to assist the Water
Department with portable generators
for water tanks.

The measurable part of Public Works’
support is unprecedented in any previous Ventura disaster: For example,
that week, the city supplied 16,460
gallons of fuel to fire trucks and other
emergency vehicles—contrasted with
20,000 gallons in a normal month.

“Our city employees were prepared and
knew exactly what to do,” says Ivers.
“Robert Wiman called to report that
he and Tim Wolverton—both of them
fleet mechanics—were on their way to
help fuel the generators.”

Public Works began its recovery phase
on December 11—one week after the
fire had started. Ivers oversaw the
prompt cleanup of Ventura’s majestic
City Hall; it suffered smoke damage
both inside and out.

The Thomas fire raged in Ventura and
the surrounding county for five days.
More than 4,000 firefighters and 600
fire trucks had quickly arrived from
other cities and states to reinforce the
city fire department. Sean McGlynn,
Santa Rosa’s City Manager, came to
help and to share his hard-gained experience from Santa Rosa’s devastating
fire in October.

The department has completed damage assessments and coordinating
debris pickups from homeowners.
Before the winter rains arrived in early
January, Public Works concentrated
on controlling erosion and reducing
mudslides, which both continue.

Everyone in the 84-person Ventura
Public Works Department found ways
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On December 20, a group of residents
sued the city for damages, charging
that some city hydrants didn’t have
sufficient water pressure. The suit is
now in litigation.
Despite the loss of 551 homes in the
Thomas Wildfire, Mary Joyce Ivers is
optimistic. “We successfully evacuated
27,000 residents, we received phenomenal help from the city and county,
and people were there to make the
right decisions,” she says.

Los Angeles County: Prepared to
“Keep ‘em in Bed”
With its dramatic geography and
welcoming microclimates, Los Angeles
County rightly heads any list of the
best places to live and work. This may
be why it’s also the most densely populated county in the United States. More
than 10 million people live within its
4,083 square miles—larger than Delaware and Rhode Island combined.
Mark Pestrella, P.E., is Director of Los
Angeles County’s Department of Public Works, which serves the residents
of this vast region through six com-

prehensive business areas. In a wildfire
or other emergency, at least four of
them—Water Resources, Transportation, Environmental Services, and
Development Services and Emergency
Management—all have a critical role in
the response.
“The wildfires we experienced in late
2017 in Los Angeles County were not
unusual,” says Pestrella. “Along with
other natural disasters, we’ve been
dealing with them as long as the county has had a public works department.
But we must be prepared to manage
every aspect of the devastation that can
occur, and we’ve become better and
better at fine-tuning our response.”
Unlike many public works departments, resources at LA County PW
include dedicated dispatchers and staff
for 24/7 emergency response; they
work closely with law enforcement
and the fire department. During fires,
firefighters use water from any of the
14 reservoirs that PW manages.
Four wildfires—La Tuna, Rye, Creek
and Skirball—erupted in late 2017 in
Los Angeles County, together destroying about 30,000 acres. While they
were not as devastating as the fires
elsewhere in the state during this time,
Pestrella believes the LA County fires
are noteworthy.
“Open, unpopulated areas that catch
fire are a natural phenomenon, but
these recent fires each began in open or
forested areas bordering on a municipality,” he says. “It’s clear that carefully planning where future new home
developments can be safely placed will
be crucial to saving lives and homes.”
Pestrella also points out that while
relatively few homes and other structures burned in the four recent fires,
the arrival of rain creates a damaging,
potentially toxic, debris flow into precious watersheds if not quickly examined and cleaned up. As soon as the
fires were fully contained, PW’s Water
Resources business area began assessing
hillsides for their potential to generate destructive mud and debris flows
and excavating the 154 debris basins

LA County Public Works engineers Roy Cruz
and Laren Bunker check the outlet pipes of
the Upper Sunset Debris Basin, where debris
and mud accumulation had obstructed the
outflow during a Jan. 9 storm. The 90-year-old
facility in Burbank, Calif., was undergoing
emergency construction to increase its
storage capacity and remained rock solid
through the storm event. (Credit: Kerjon Lee,
LA County Public Works)

after the gathering place for firefighters had already been destroyed, roads
employees escorted them where they
needed to go.

upstream of the Los Angeles, Santa
Clara and San Gabriel rivers.
“After a wildfire,” he notes, “the
debris flow doubles, so we must
ensure we’re ready before the next
rainfall. At the same time, recovery
can go on for years.”

When every moment counted,
transit buses were used to evacuate
thousands of people to safety. Other
PW professionals, with more time to
prepare, checked reservoir levels and
water lines. PW websites provided the
public with helpful, up-to-date information. Administrative staff served
meals to weary firefighters—while
other PW employees cleaned sooty
truck windows.

Pestrella takes special pride in his
department’s outreach to county
homeowners about post-fire debris
flow, paid for through flood protection assessments. Any homeowner
can have a PW engineer visit their
home to advise about possible debrisflow damage or sandbag placement.
Homebound seniors can have sandbags
placed for them.

In early January, heavy winter rains
arrived in southern California, turning
charred, weakened hillsides into deadly
mudslides. The new devastation hit
especially hard in Montecito in Santa
Barbara County. At press time, local PW
departments were still clearing boulders
and debris from roads, repairing water
and wastewater facilities, and clearing
debris basins before the next rainfall.

“At LA County Public Works, our informal motto is ‘Keep ‘em in bed’,” he says.
“The public doesn’t know what PW
does for them—but emergency response
is the highest form of public service.”

Extraordinary Devotion to Duty
Faced with record monster wildfires,
public works professionals in California
responded with extraordinary devotion to duty that helped save lives and
property. Many PW workers kept roads
clear so that firefighters could safely get
in and do their jobs. In one instance,
www.apwa.net

Public works is often the last to leave,
but in this instance their response will
continue indefinitely.
Helen Horwitz can be reached at
hlhorwitz@yahoo.com.

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Call issued for nominations to APWA
Board of Directors

A

PWA’s National and Regional
Teresa Hon
Nominating Committees
Senior Manager of Board Operations
are currently issuing a call
and Governance
for nominations for Board of
Directors positions.
American Public Works Association
Kansas City, Missouri President-Elect and Director-at-

Large Positions
The National Nominating Committee
is currently accepting nominations of
candidates for President-Elect and four
Director-at-Large seats in the functional areas of Engineering & Technology,
Environmental Management, Leadership & Management, and Transportation. For 2018, those elected to office
will begin their term at PWX in Kansas
City, Mo., August 2018.
The President-Elect serves a one-year
term as President-Elect, followed by
one-year terms as President and Past
President, respectively. The terms
of office for Directors-at-Large are
two-years, with a maximum of three
consecutive two-year terms.

Director-at-Large Positions
Engineering & Technology: David
(Dave) Lawry, P.E., Director of Engineering & Public Works, Village of
Schaumburg, Ill., is completing his
third two-year term and is not eligible
for additional terms.
Environmental Management: William
(Bill) Spearman, P.E., Principal, WE3
Consultants, Saluda, S.C., is complet10

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ing his third two-year term and is not
eligible for additional terms.
Leadership & Management: Stan
Brown, P.E., PWLF, City of Manager,
City of Oakwood, Ga., is completing
his first two-year term and is eligible for
two additional two-year terms.
Transportation: Kathleen Davis, Director of Local Programs, Washington
State DOT, Olympia, Wash., is completing her second two-year term and is
eligible for a final two-year term.
APWA members wishing to put names
before the National Nominating Committee should send a letter of recommendation for each suggested candidate in care of the National office of
APWA by 5:00 p.m. CDT, April 3, 2018.

Regional Director Positions
There are four Regional Director positions open for nomination this year.
Regional Nominating Committees will
set the ballot for Regional Directors
in Regions III, IV, VII and IX. Current
Regional Directors include:
•

Region III: Keith Pugh, P.E., PWLF,
Engineering Services Director, City
of High Point, N.C., is completing
his first two-year term and is eligible
for two additional two-year terms.

•

Region IV: Douglas (Doug) Layton,
P.E., PWLF, Jacksonville, Fla., is completing his first two-year term and is

eligible for two additional two-year
terms as a Regional Director.
•

•

Region VII: Maher Hazine, P.E.,
PWLF, Chief Strategic Officer, REI
Development Services, Pine, Ariz.,
is completing his second two-year
term and is eligible for a final twoyear term as a Regional Director.
Region IX: Dan Hartman, PWLF,
Director of Public Works, City of
Golden, Colo., is completing his
first term and is eligible for two
additional two-year terms as a
Regional Director.

Regional Directors’ terms of office are
two-year terms, with a maximum of
three consecutive two-year terms. For
2018, those elected to office will begin
their term at PWX in Kansas City, Mo.,
August 2018.

How to Self-Nominate or
Nominate an Individual for the
National Board of Directors

Candidate nominations may be selfnomination, may be submitted by any
APWA member, or by a chapter.

employer stating acceptance of the
time commitment involved with
the position. Questions related to
time commitment for Board positions should be directed to Teresa
Hon who will put nominees in contact with a current Board member.

A package of information (electronic
format is preferred) must be submitted
for each nominee and must contain
the following:
1. A letter of nomination addressed
to the National Nominating
Committee (for President-Elect or
Director-at-Large positions) or to
the Region III, IV, VII or IX Nominating Committee (for Regional
Director positions). The letter
must affirm that the nominee has
expressed a willingness to serve in
the office for which he/she is being
nominated, the office designation
for which he/she is being nominated, and a brief statement to
indicate the person’s qualifications
for the office.
2.

A current photo of the nominee
and a letter from the nominee’s

Each nomination must be in a separate
letter. Electronic submissions are preferred. If in pdf format, please provide
a separate file for each document. All
nominations and questions should be
directed to:
Teresa Hon
APWA
1200 Main Street
Suite 1400
Kansas City, MO 64105
E-mail: thon@apwa.net
Phone: (816) 595-5224
The Board of Directors has issued a
policy that the nominations process
utilized by the National Nominating
Committee for the President-Elect and

The exam questions were targeted at
an individual having gained knowledge
by working in the field.The APWA
certification program is truly meaningful
because it’s something you can’t obtain
without real experience.

Being certified by APWA gives you
respect, recognition and credibility
because you have been tested in
your area of expertise.

It’s your time. Get Certified!

City regulators have acknowledged
that having a CSM as part of a
local government gives a more
comprehensive approach with better
understanding of what is required by
the State/EPA regulators.

For more information visit: apwa.net/certification

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11

Director-at-Large and the Regional Nominating Committees for the Regional
Directors will be a “selection” process
by the committee, not a “campaign” for
office. The Board strongly discourages
“campaign” activity and expenditure of
funds in support of a candidacy.

Profile of an ideal candidate
Required for all offices:
•

APWA member in good standing,
with all dues and service fees paid

Desired for all offices:
•

Knowledgeable and articulate on
matters associated with public
works and willing to serve as a
spokesperson for APWA

•

Highly respected in community;
solid professional, ethical
character

•

Active in Chapter, Committee,
Council of Chapters activities

•

Committed to APWA and its values
and growth of the association

•

Willing to devote the time necessary to the fulfillment of the duties

Desired for President-Elect:
•
•

Service in a leadership or officer
role in an APWA chapter
APWA national service; experience
on the APWA Board of Directors is
highly desirable

•

Continuous membership in APWA
for the last five years in a voting
eligible classification

•

Employed in the field of public
works for five years within the last
ten years, in a middle or higher
management capacity

•

High ethical and moral standards

•

Demonstrated leadership ability

•

Personal commitment to public
works

•

Broad understanding of public
works elements, issues and
disciplines

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February 2018

•

Exhibits qualities of national
stature

•

Reputation of professionalism

Composition of Nominating
Committees
National Nominating Committee. The
National Nominating Committee is
a nine-member committee with one
member appointed from each APWA
region. Names of members serving on
the National Nominating Committee
are considered open and available to
any member. Members of the National
Nominating Committee represent
the association, not their individual
regions. The two most immediate
APWA Past Presidents will be appointed
to guide and facilitate the nomination
process but will not vote or attempt to
influence the members of the National
Nominating Committee.
All candidates will be considered for
the position for which they have submitted (either President-Elect or Director-at-Large). The names of members
under consideration for any position
on the Board of Directors will be made
available to any person requesting. All
members will be advised of this policy
in advance of submitting their name as
a candidate.
The Committee will determine the
operations of the Committee and
process for candidate selection at their
organizational meeting. The Committee will interview all candidates for
President-Elect and determine if interviews may be held for “finalist” candidates for the Director-at-Large position.
The candidates will be selected by
majority vote of the Committee. The
Committee will report to the APWA
Board of Directors the names of candidates for each position to be voted
upon at the annual election.
Regional Nominating Committees.
All Regional Nominating Committees will be established with a member
from each chapter in the region and
appointed by the National President
after requesting input from the appropriate Chapter Presidents. Members of

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the Regional Nominating Committees
represent the association, not their
individual chapters.
All candidates will be considered for
the position for which they have submitted. The names of members under
consideration will be made available
to any person so requesting. All members will be advised of this policy in
advance of submitting their name as
a candidate.

Confidentiality
To promote and encourage full, open
and unfettered dialogue among
members of the National Nominating
Committee and members of individual
Regional Nominating Committees,
discussions among the Committee
members and Past Presidents regarding
candidate qualifications, strengths and
weaknesses, ranking and other matters
related to candidates are strictly confidential. Violation of confidentiality is a
serious offense and may be considered
a violation of APWA’s “Standards of
Professional Conduct.”
Teresa Hon can be reached at (816) 5955224 or thon@apwa.net.

Nominations for National
APWA Committee
Appointment
APWA is now soliciting nominations
for appointments to national level
committees/task forces/external
relationships for the August 20182019 year. Step forward and offer your
expertise to your profession. Beginning
February 23, 2018, information on
appointments may be obtained on the
APWA website. A brief biographical
statement must be completed online
or submitted as a hard copy to be
considered. Nominations must be
completed online or by mail between
February 23, 2018 and close of business
March 23, 2018. For more information
contact Teresa Hon at thon@apwa.net
or (816) 595-5224.

APWAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Awards Program recognizes individuals, groups and chapters for
their outstanding contributions to the profession of public works. Some of the
awards presented include Professional Manager of the Year Awards,
Myron Calkins Young Leader of the Year, Public Works Project of the Year,
and Top Ten Public Works Leader of the Year, to name just a few.
Each award is listed on the APWA website. Criteria and nomination forms
for the 2018 Awards Program are now available online.

NOMINATE YOUR
AWARD WINNER TODAY!

NOMINATIONS ARE DUE MARCH 1, 2018
Visit www.apwa.net/awards
www.apwa.net
February 2018
/

ater resources are something that touches everyone’s lives but is a hidden
lifeline. As President Mills
stated in his President’s
Message in this issue of the Reporter,
“In comparison to our transportation
infrastructure, which we see every day,
water infrastructure is a hidden lifeline
that we only see when we turn on the
tap, flush the toilet or when our fire officials need it. We expect water services to
work flawlessly; it’s therefore imperative
that we fund them accordingly.”
APWA’s Water Resources Management
Committee has contributed several
articles to this issue that explore water
resources management. These articles
cover trending issues and best practices
in the water, wastewater, and stormwater disciplines. Articles in this issue are
on topics such as innovative financing,
green infrastructure, and emergency
management for natural disasters.
The 2017-2018 Water Resources
Management Committee is comprised
of individuals dedicated to the committee’s mission: On behalf of APWA
members, we promote and provide

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February 2018

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education on best management
practices for water resources to achieve
resilient and sustainable systems.
We extend our gratitude to:
•

Other current committee activities that
provide information and education
about water quality issues and available
resources include:
•

Developing a Click, Listen & Learn
program airing on February 22,
2018 on Innovative Financing for
Water Resources.

•

Developing and hosting the annual Public Works Stormwater Summit and other technical sessions
that will occur at the 2018 PWX,
August 26-29, 2018 in Kansas City,
Missouri.

•

Seeking opportunities to collaborate with other APWA Technical
Committees, APWA chapters, and
other water industry organizations.

Water Resources Management
Knowledge Team
In an effort to expand volunteer opportunities to those who may be interested
in contributing to the Water Resources
Management Committee, the committee has created a Water Resources Management Knowledge Team. Members
of the Knowledge Team will commit to
working on projects to share information with APWA members through
working on projects such as writing
articles, presenting Click, Listen and
Learn sessions, speaking at PWX and
other conferences, and other methods.
Water Resources Management Knowledge Team members will have a unique
opportunity to share their input with
the Water Resources Management
Committee. Knowledge Team members

should be knowledgeable in any of the
following areas: water, wastewater, and
stormwater. In particular, the committee is looking for representation from
the water, wastewater, and reuse sectors
as well as members from the west coast.
Participating in this team will also give
added visibility to those interested in
serving on the Water Resources Management Committee in the future as
committee positions become open. If
you are interested in joining the team,
please contact Rita Cassida at rcassida@
apwa.net.
For more information about the activities of the Water Resources Management Committee, you may visit the
committee’s webpage at www.apwa.
net. Select the Groups and Committees
and then Technical Committees.

Indianapolis has everything we could ask for in a Snow Conference host city: accessibility, hospitality, and a
vibrant, connected, and walkable downtown with hundreds of restaurants and attractions offering plenty of
opportunities for a great experience for everyone.

The Show for Snow Is Racing to
the Hoosier State

A

PWA and our Indiana Chapter
are busy planning the next
North American Snow Conference in Indianapolis, the Racing Capitol of the World, May
6-9, 2018. More than 2,200 snowfighters, exhibitors and other public works
professionals are expected to attend this
year’s Show for Snow!
With its central location making travel
easy from all parts of North America,
Indianapolis provides a convenient
location for attendees to experience the
most concentrated collection of winter
maintenance solutions under one roof.
The 2018 Snow Conference has it all—
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February 2018

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from expert-led snow and ice education
sessions to an exhibit floor packed with
excited vendors who can’t wait to show
off the latest snow and ice products.
Don’t wait another minute; make plans
today to join us in Indy.
Late December 2017 brought recordbreaking cold and snowfall to many
parts of the country, and while we’re
still unsure what all the winter of 2018
will bring, we can be sure it will involve
snowfighters putting in the hard work
necessary to keep the public safe. The
Snow Conference offers you a unique
chance to take in four days of important
education and networking opportuni-

Designed for individuals charged with supervising winter maintenance
operations, the Winter Maintenance Supervisor Certificate Workshop
provides a well-rounded overview of all aspects of snow and ice control.

ties after the plows have been put away
for the season. Whether your duties
involve winter street maintenance,
transportation, asset management,
emergency response or public safety,
you will be sure to find common
ground with peers and have a chance
to exchange ideas and experiences
with other snowfighters, manufacturers, distributors, consultants and
public works professionals.
Why Indy? It has everything we could
ask for in a Snow Conference host city:
accessibility, hospitality, and a vibrant,
connected, and walkable downtown
with hundreds of restaurants and attractions offering plenty of opportunities
for a great experience for everyone.
The first LEED-certified airport in
America, the Indianapolis International Airport is only 15 minutes
from downtown. Driving to the Snow
Conference? Known as the Crossroads

of America, Indy is within a day’s drive
for over half the U.S. population. Once
you’re in Indianapolis, you’ll find most
everything you want to see and do is
within walking distance of your hotel,
including the Indiana Convention
Center and a wide variety of dining and
nightlife options and other attractions.
Raining outside? An expansive network
of climate-controlled skywalks connects
most downtown hotels with the convention center and a four-story mall of
restaurants and specialty shops. Rather
be outside? The Indianapolis Cultural
Trail offers a safe and scenic greenway
for pedestrians to reach dining, shopping, and entertainment in the city’s six
thriving cultural districts.
Indianapolis is a natural destination
for people who love sports. Collegiate,
amateur, professional—Indy has it all,
from top-ranking teams to award-winning facilities. That includes, of course,
the world-famous Indianapolis Motor
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Speedway, home of the Indianapolis
500. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Museum captures the rich 100-year history of the world’s fastest sport. The Dallara IndyCar Factory, located just down
the road from the speedway, conveys
the intense engineering and technology
behind the sport through interactive
and hands-on exhibits. The NCAA Hall
of Champions, located in downtown
Indianapolis, showcases all 24 collegiate
sports and the heart and dedication it
takes to be a student-athlete.
Snow Conference attendees will experience a wonderful variety of dining and
nightlife options. Only-in-Indy restaurants are plentiful in downtown and
the surrounding cultural districts. Indy
is known for international flare in its
cuisine choices, with culinary entrepreneurs representing over 70 languages
and cultures. Of course you’ll also find
plenty of good ol’ American farm-totable restaurants and steakhouses,
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There will be plenty of time to talk with exhibitors representing more than 150 companies with
products and services focused on innovative new equipment, ground-breaking technologies,
snow and ice removal, winter road maintenance, and streets and fleet operations.

including the world famous St. Elmo’s
Steak House that still operates from its
original 1902 location right downtown
(don’t forget to sample the shrimp cocktail). And there’s bound to be a sports
bar or two, with plenty of televisions for
viewing the big game, just around the
corner from your hotel!

a result of these efforts, we’re honored
to have the best and brightest minds
in municipal snow operations attend
the Show for Snow to present education sessions. Attendees will experience
numerous programs featuring winter
maintenance, weather, emergency
management, fleet and sustainability.

One of Indianapolis’s popular new
attractions is also the location of this
year’s Snow Celebration on Tuesday,
May 8. Punch Bowl Social—where
“food for foodies” and crafted beverages collide with all-you-can-sing karaoke, 10-pin bowling parties, shuffleboard competitions and more—will be
open exclusively to Snow Conference
guests to explore and play! We encourage everybody to come enjoy the final
evening of The Show for Snow with all
your fellow snowfighters while enjoying delicious and creative food and
drinks. Then stay to have some fun
with bowling, ping pong, bocce ball,
karaoke, corn hole, an ’80s arcade and
giant wall scrabble.

New to the conference last year, APWA
will again be presenting a portion of our
education sessions as part of our FAST
TRACK. These are fast-paced 20-minute
sessions designed to give attendees a
great way to take in a lot of information
in a short time period. We’re also proud
to bring our second installment of the
Traffic Incident Management (TIM) for
Responders Course and to add the popular APWA Self-Assessment Workshop
to the education program. This year, the
interactive General Session Talk Show
will turn its focus to bridging the gap
between generations in the workforce.

Along with a great city and fun social
events, the 2018 Snow Conference
promises to showcase industry-leading
education sessions and exhibits.
Each year, a dedicated committee of
APWA members and winter maintenance professionals works to develop
the conference education program. As
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February 2018

Back again this year is the ever-popular
Winter Maintenance Supervisor Certificate Workshop. Designed for individuals charged with supervising winter
maintenance operations, this one-day
workshop provides a well-rounded
overview of all aspects of snow and ice
control. Held on the first day, it provides
a great foundation for deeper investigation into specific topics of interest
throughout the rest of the conference.
There will also be plenty of time to
explore the exhibit floor and talk with

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exhibitors representing more than 150
companies with products and services
focused on innovative new equipment,
ground-breaking technologies, snow
and ice removal, winter road maintenance, and streets and fleet operations.
Select exhibitors will present unique
technical sessions in the Exhibitor
Solutions Theater straight from the
exhibit floor, demonstrating how their
company’s technology, tool or service
provides a solution that addresses the
needs of the snowfighting community.
After the success of the New Product
Showcase at the 2017 Snow Conference,
we’re also adding a New Product Theater
where you can learn more about the
new products added to the marketplace
in the past year.
Wednesday morning, May 9, is dedicated to technical tours. APWA’s Indiana
Chapter is planning some great tours,
including the award-winning winter
operations division of the Indianapolis
International Airport and DPW Indianapolis’ West Street Operations hub
and their “Indy Snow Force.” Check the
Snow Conference website for updates
on the technical tour program.
Conference registration is open. More
information about the 2018 North
American Snow Conference is available online at www.apwa.net/snow.
Make plans now to attend the Show
for Snow!

From left to right: Richard Michaud, Karyn Komroff and Peter Foye

City of Coral Springs Public Works
Department becomes
121st accredited agency
Richard Michaud
Public Works Director
City of Coral Springs, Florida

T

he City of Coral Springs
achieved accreditation by
the American Public Works
Association on March 13,
2017. The journey began in
the spring of 2015, after the Director of
Public Works, Rich Michaud, assigned
staff member, Peter Foye, to attend
an APWA accreditation workshop in
Orlando presented by Ann Daniels.
Upon Peter’s return, he reported he
was excited about the opportunity and
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was willing to take on the task of being
the Accreditation Manager. Thereafter,
Director Michaud was tasked with persuading other members of his management team this was a mission which
could place the Public Works Department on a similar status as the City’s
other accredited agencies, the Police
and Fire Departments.
As those of us in public works know,
despite the motto of being the “first to
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19

arrive, last to leave” in a time of crisis,
police and fire personnel are typically
recognized at City Commission
meetings for their heroic efforts. Public
works personnel often go overlooked
in their support of public safety.
The opportunity to be recognized
nationally by our peers, and internally
by City administration, was a cause
the Public Works management could
rally around. Coral Springs Public
Works was also motivated to be the
first accredited department of the 31
municipalities in Broward County.
The interest in completing the accreditation program was also influenced by
the City of Coral Springs’s long history
of pursuing continuous improvement,
as documented by the City winning
the Governor’s Sterling Award for Quality in 1997 and 2003, as well as being
the first government agency to win the
Baldrige Award in 2007. The quest to
achieve accreditation was in sync with
the City’s Mission Statement, “To be the
premier community to live, work, and raise
a family.”
Department staff made the commitment to pursue accreditation in the
spring of 2015 when staff prepared a
Business Plan Initiative for the 2016
budget. Business Plan Initiatives are
documented in the City’s Business
Plan, and are aligned with one of the
City’s strategic priorities, which in this
case was, “An innovative, high-performing organization.” The Initiative
stated the objectives of the accreditation were to:
•

Conduct a self-assessment

•

Compare current practices with
best practices

•

Recognize good performance and
incentives to improve processes

•

Increase the spirit of professionalism
and pride within the Department

The challenges with working towards
accreditation were managing the time
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February 2018

License plate on the front of Public Works Department vehicles

The opportunity to be recognized nationally by our
peers, and internally by City administration, was a
cause the Public Works management could
rally around.
associated with completing the various chapters. In total, Coral Springs
staff completed 347 operational areas
ranging from Fleet Management to
Utilities. The due dates had to be carefully arranged around other annual
deadlines such as budget, performance
reviews, and the annual threat of hurricanes. Many of the Policy sections were
drafted by the Director and Accreditation Manager, with the Field Superintendents adding the detail associated
with standard operating procedures.
The exercise provided an opportunity
for staff throughout the Department to
participate in assembling and uploading all of the documents related to the
subject areas.
In the fall of 2016, the City hosted public works professionals from the South
Florida area to conduct a “peer” review.
This provided excellent feedback for the
team to fine-tune each of the sections,
as well as get valuable insight as to what
the accreditation site visit team looks
for in the application. The Coral Springs
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then ready to host a formal site visit in
February 2017. The site visit consisted
of a tour of the City, followed by two
intense days of review of the documentation. The review recognized the “Keep
Coral Springs Beautiful” anti-litter
campaign as a Model Practice.
Aside from instilling great pride
among the Public Works Department
staff as being the first in the county to
achieve accreditation, staff remains
focused on Policy and standard
operating procedures as required for
re-accreditation. The celebration
among staff from the luncheons to
T-shirts with the accreditation logo,
to license plates on the front of Public
Works Department vehicles are a
constant reminder of reaching a goal
that took over two years of dedicated
work. These documents tell the Coral
Springs Public Works story and can be
passed on to our successors.
Richard Michaud can be reached
at (954) 344-1165 or Rmichaud@
carolsprings.org.

CPFP Certification: Bridging
the gap from private to public
fleet management

nlike many of my public fleet
professional counterparts
who, like our current APWA
president, worked their way
up through their respective
organizations to achieve their current position, I began my career in the
private sector. After graduating from
the University of Nevada, Reno with
a degree in Business Administration, I
spent the next 17 years in the private
sector. About ten of these years were
at a construction equipment dealership where I worked as a parts person,
an equipment salesman, the rental/
machinery manager and finally the
general manager. I also spent a few
years in retail management and, just
prior to coming to the county, I managed a trucking company that provided
both material hauling and transport
services in northern Nevada and
northern California.
I share this as a point of reference to
what I did in the private sector that
qualified me to be offered a position as
a public fleet professional. Shortly after
I was hired as the Equipment Services
Superintendent for Washoe County
in 2005, I experienced the first glaring
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difference between private and public
fleet management. When managing a
P&L (budget) in the private sector, my
primary consideration was the bottom
line. If the last number on the page
wasn’t in parentheses then I had a good
year. Imagine my surprise when I sat in
on my first budget meeting, not knowing what in the heck an internal service
fund was, and was told that as long as
I didn’t overspend my budget authority that the bottom line wasn’t critical.
This was the first of many situations
in the following months that made
me acutely aware that not all of what I
had done or learned in my previous 17
years prepared me for the challenges of
being a public fleet professional.
A more welcome surprise early in my
career was the opportunity to become
a member of a public fleet professional
organization called Rocky Mountain
Fleet Management Association, now
FleetPros. My involvement in FleetPros
afforded me opportunities to network
on a regular basis with local public
fleet professionals at quarterly chapter
meetings and with fleet professionals
from around the country at our annual
conference and expo; many of whom
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21

were also members of APWA. It was
at my first national conference that I
was introduced to a fleet professional
certification program. After listening to
a presentation about the course I knew
I needed to invest in something like
this. At that time, the program being
offered required attendance at a conference to test for the different sections.
Based on my travel budget and the
number of modules, I figured it would
take three to four years to complete the
certification and I didn’t want to wait
that long.
As luck would have it, not long after
this conference, the CPFP certification was introduced to me by our new
Public Works Director. The county was
a member of APWA and he was active
in the Nevada Chapter. He added me
as a member and signed me up for a
three-day webinar detailing the CPFP
certification process. The eight core
competencies were similar to those presented at the conference I had attended
but were much more specific to managing a public fleet. At the end of the
third session it was obvious to me how
significantly managing a private fleet
differed from public fleet management.
I decided then that I both wanted and
needed to get my CPFP certification.
The great thing about the CPFP was
that it was self-paced and, once you
felt you were ready to take the test, you
could do so at a proxy location in your
area. This allowed me to study when
time allowed and the expense of going
to a conference for testing was no longer an issue.
Immediately after the webinar I
reached out to my local counterparts
and was fortunate to find someone
who had gone through the process
and was willing to lend me his study
material. In order to plan my study
schedule I found out when the next
testing time was available and began
the process of preparing myself for
the exam. It was a number of months

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February 2018

away so I blocked out a few hours each
week to begin reviewing the materials.
I kept all of the study guides along with
the webinar material handy because I
found myself regularly referring to them
as I continued the ongoing on-thejob-training of becoming a public fleet
professional. This made the material
more interesting and applicable to the
day-to-day requirements of managing a
public fleet.
As the test date was approaching I’m
not embarrassed to say that I was getting a little bit nervous. It had been
about twenty years since my last real
exam and even though I felt ready, I
didn’t want to fail. It took me most
of the three hours allotted to complete the exam before I hit the send
button. It seemed longer than it was
before receiving the message that I had
passed. I took the test later in the afternoon so I wasn’t able to share the great
news with my boss or coworkers. To be
honest I hadn’t made a big deal about
taking the test because I had a sliver of
doubt that I would pass it.
It has been about ten years now since
achieving the CPFP certification and
I still keep my study guides handy.
The information is applicable every
day as I continue to learn how to be a
public fleet professional. The Financial
Management section gave me a much
clearer understanding of the definition of an internal service fund and the
accounting chargeback principles that
go with it. I used the resource material from the Information Technology
section to help justify an enhancement
to my fleet management information
system which included a replacement
scoring module that allowed me to
identify the most critical replacements
that needed to take place. During
the budget cuts we experienced as an
organization I used the information
in the Human Resource Management
section to justify my staffing ratios and
was able to retain all of my technicians.
In short, there isn’t a single content

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area from the CPFP that I haven’t used
in the nearly 13 years I have worked for
Washoe County.
Regardless of where you are in your
career as a public fleet professional, I
highly recommend you sign up for the
next available APWA CPFP webinar.
The content might seem overwhelming
at first so don’t feel pressured to take
the exam before you are ready. Partner
with someone who has taken the test.
Borrow, or better yet, invest in the study
material. Even if I hadn't completed
the certification process the resource
material has been invaluable in helping
make the transition from being a fleet
manager in the private sector to becoming a public fleet professional. It is with
great pride that I am able to sign my
name David Gonzales, CPFP.
David Gonzales can be reached at (775)
328-2121 or dgonzales@washoecounty.
us.

“There never were in the
world two opinions alike,
no more than two hairs
or two grains; the most
universal quality
is diversity.”
– Michel de Montaigne
(1533-1592),
French writer and
philosopher

t is a struggle for communities to
engage with their residents. Now,
in the technology era, long gone
are the days of face-to-face town
hall meetings as they have been
replaced with video chats and
status updates on social media. Small
communities are at the heart of this
struggle because many do not have the
staff resources available to dedicate
to an effective communications and
social media campaign. The communications and social media job functions
are often combined with other job
duties, further taxing their resources.
The City of Parkville, Mo., is a small
suburb located 10 minutes northwest of Kansas City. Parkville serves a
population of about 6,500 residents
and understands the definition of
“doing more with less.” Staff members
throughout any organization wear
many different hats to serve the needs
of the community. In our case, the
City Clerk also wears the hat of Public
Information Officer.

Stay relevant: In the world of instant
gratification, residents want (and
sometimes need) the immediate
updates. There is a fine line between
too many posts and not enough information. It is a good practice to post
at least three times per day per social
media platform. This allows the messages to have a constant presence and
keep the readers engaged.
Keeping up with the Joneses: It is
good for the communications staff
to monitor and follow other partnering organizations’ websites and social
media feeds. This allows for sharing of
key information that would be helpful
for your residents.

First things first: There are several
social media platforms available from
Facebook to Instagram. Diversity
in these platforms is always a good
strategy to reach a greater audience.
It is best to link all of the social media
platforms with the city’s website to
promote consistency while hashtags
help to organize the web content and
provide interest by the readers.
Don’t put your eggs in one basket:
It is a good practice for small cities to
assign one main point of contact for
communications and social media.
This will provide a uniform message to
residents and prevent any miscommunications. With that being said, it is a
good idea to have a staff member serve
as backup, just in case the main contact
is out of the office. Communications
and social media training to those staff
members will help provide consistency
in the messaging.
A picture is worth a thousand words:
On social media posts and web conwww.apwa.net

tent, less is more. Be direct with as few
words as possible to state your message
and always include pictures. The pictures will help to describe the text and
catch the reader’s eye amidst all their
other posts. There may be times that a
long message is necessary, so consider
truncated text or provide a hyperlink
to allow the reader to get additional
information.

/

Everyone is watching: Be careful
about posting information. It is a good
practice to pretend that the information posted will end up on the front
page of your small town newspaper.
Everything produced by a public agency is a matter of public record and is
discoverable under Missouri Sunshine
Law. Although posts can be removed
from a website, the electronic footprint remains forever. Develop a Social
Media Policy and provide standards to
the staff members charged with communication and social media.
Get the community involved: Provide
opportunities to involve the community through social media. When the
residents are involved, they take pride
in the ownership of the final product.
Organizations can easily engage the
community by posting short surveys
and online voting opportunities.
One example that we implement in
Parkville is to allow the residents to
February 2018

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23

submit photos to the website for a
photo contest; the photos can be used
for distribution material or website
photos in the future.
The City of Parkville continues to find
ways to engage the community. About
two years ago, Parkville had a dead cottonwood tree in the middle of English
Landing Park, an established 65-acre
riverfront park. The standard response
would have been to remove the tree
down to the stump. Instead, staff members engaged the services of a local
chainsaw carver, TJ Jenkins, to turn the
dead tree into a piece of art. The City
staff came up with three ideas for the
tree carving that best represented the
city: (1) an eagle; (2) a grizzly bear; and
(3) a depiction of Lewis and Clark. The
City hosted an online survey through
the website for residents to vote for
their favorite artwork and the majority
of the votes received were for the eagle.

test using the hashtag #NameThatEagle
as an alternative means for collecting
names. There were a total of 78 names
submitted for consideration. A selection committee composed of City
staff, elected officials and committee
members narrowed the list of names
down to five. The City hosted an online
survey to vote for their favorite name.
With 48% of the votes, the name
selected was “Raji Ke. Pe Ke!” (meaning
“You arrived here. It is good.” from the
Otoe-Missouria tribe which had originally owned the land). The City hosted
an unveiling ceremony for the eagle’s
name. The person who provided the
winning name is listed on the bronze
plaque at the base of the eagle (a.k.a.
Raj). (See photo on p. 25.)

At the completion of the eagle carving,
the artist (TJ Jenkins) gave the City a
carved bear as token of his appreciation to staff for their assistance. Staff
immediately fell in love with the bear
Once the nine-foot eagle was carved,
and named the bear “Buddy Parker.”
the City hosted
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trips to job sites, groundbreakings, and
ribbon cutting ceremonies. Buddy also
is used in several of the public service
announcements, whether it is encouraging residents to pick up dog waste,
not to litter, or to wish them a happy
holiday. The pictures are posted on the
City’s Facebook and website along with
the hashtag #BuddyParkerPKV. The
City of Parkville struck social media
gold with a piece of artfully carved
wood. (See photos on p. 25.)
Small cities don’t need sophisticated
computer programs or additional staff
members to effectively communicate
to their community. Following these
basic guidelines for communications
and social media will allow any organization to make an impact on their citizen engagement as well as the citizen’s
quality of life. Having a mascot doesn’t
hurt either.
Alysen M. Abel can be reached at (816)
741-7676 or AAbel@parkville.mo.gov.

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Buddy visiting his cousin Raj

Buddy promoting the new drop box for utility bills

Buddy at the 2017 Arbor Day celebration

Buddy at the ribbon cutting ceremony for Hwy 45

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Could this be what
employees experience in
your workplace?
Beverly Ann Farraher, P.E., PTOE
Operations Manager, St. Paul Public Works Department
St. Paul, Minnesota
Member, APWA Diversity Committee

T

he APWA National Diversity
Committee has the privilege
of presenting an article each
month for the benefit of APWA
members. This month, the City
of St. Paul is sharing an experience
that has changed our workplace for the
better as we dealt with negative and
unacceptable behaviors in a specific
work group. We recognize that what
happened in our work group can happen anywhere, is happening right now
in various work places, and is making
these businesses and agencies unacceptable places to work—ultimately
making us all less productive.
Our goal with sharing this experience
is to cause thought and discussion in
every agency, business, and work group
regarding the responsibility we all have
to find and deal with such negative
behaviors. We also want to remind
supervisors and managers to listen to
employees who share information,
and follow up on what is discovered no
matter how challenging the necessary
actions may be. Ultimately, we want
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to invigorate every APWA member to consider how they can be an
“upstander” and take positive actions
to make better workplaces for all and
not simply speak well-meant but nonactive words to support diverse and
inclusive workplaces.

Introduction
In 2014, the City of St. Paul began to
enact one of Mayor Christopher B.
Coleman’s Three Priorities in a citywide Racial Equity Initiative. Each
department was asked to set up a Racial
Equity Change Team charged with
moving forward racial equity work in
their departments. Once a quarter, all
teams are pulled together for a joint
session to create opportunities to learn
about a specific topic to encourage
having difficult conversations on issues
related to advancing racial equity in
the city.
On October 30, 2017, the Public Works
Racial Equity Change Team hosted the
Citywide Change Team meeting. St.
Paul Public Works presented a real-life

/

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situation involving Antione Posey, an
electrician in Public Works. Antione
and Kathy Lantry, Director of Public
Works, shared what happened, what
was done and where we are today
in changing negative, unacceptable
behaviors and culture within our
department. All agreed that more work
is needed to continue our efforts in the
Racial Equity Initiative.
Antione and Kathy’s presentation
was structured to go back and forth
between the two of them to highlight
the thought process of how labor and
management experienced the situation
and actions taken. The presentation
took about 30 minutes and was quite
emotional for some listeners. Main
themes are paraphrased here as are
the most important take-aways. – John
Johnston, Public Works Racial Equity
Change Team Chair, City of St. Paul

Antione’s Perspective: Trying to
Fit In
Antione was hired as a temporary
electrician in Public Works in June

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2014 and he did a lot to fit in with his
coworkers. He tried to learn about their
interests, regardless of his personal
interest in those activities, so he could
have good conversations with them.
He felt it was important to work hard to
make sure he did not reinforce negative stereotypes. He accepted racially
offensive comments to avoid confrontations and not be labelled “the angry
black man.” He made choices to accept
the stress of harassing behaviors to
continue his career. Comments made
by some in his work group were meant
to be degrading and demeaning. Some
coworkers were comfortable being
openly prejudiced in their comments.
Antione joined the Public Works Racial
Equity Change Team to effect some
change and with the hope that these
coworkers might stop their behaviors
if they knew he was on the committee.
When comments continued, Antione
felt that accepting those comments
was the price for success or having the

job, although he considered quitting
the city.
At a city-wide Racial Equity Change
Team meeting, Antione privately
shared a negative incident he had experienced where a coworker told him “he
had the right skin to be a foreman.”
Antione shared this privately with one
team member, but the team member
announced it to the entire room during
a group discussion time. At that time,
Antione did not wish to share any
additional details with investigators
since he remained focused on “fitting
in,” regardless of personal cost, and he
worried about being ostracized.
About three weeks later, however,
Antione learned his young daughter
had been ostracized by a classmate
based on her difference in hair. While
consoling her, Antione realized he was
teaching her to put up with bullying
behavior to fit in. He realized he could
not teach her to stand up for herself
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unless he also stood up for himself.
After that insight, he did not put up
with harassing comments and verbally
confronted four people in his work
group who were harassing him. These
verbal confrontations and Antione’s
willingness to share his experiences
resulted in an investigation.

Kathy’s Perspective: The
Department Gets Involved
Antione’s courage to share his experiences with Public Works’ Human
Resources staff initiated an investigation. Public Works took these allegations very seriously and the ensuing
investigation took six months to complete. Coordinating employees’ time,
union representatives, and outside
investigators was a massive undertaking, but one that had to be done right.
For everyone in the division this was a
difficult time—but most certainly for
Antione. To make sure he was protected

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27

and not exposed to negative behaviors,
he was temporarily moved to another
work area. Since he could not talk
about the investigation due to its confidential nature, we unintentionally, yet
unavoidably, added to Antione’s stress
and anxiety by making him feel ostracized and re-victimized. We realize now
that we could have and should have
done more than we did to communicate and support Antione.
The investigation revealed a culture
that was very accepting of racist comments and behaviors. Some employees
felt these comments and actions were
made in jest and not a big deal. Supervisors recognized that these comments and behaviors were inappropriate, but had not taken definitive,
meaningful, and immediate corrective
action to intervene and change/eliminate the behaviors and comments.
They also lacked any documentation
that they had taken any steps to rectify situations.
The result of the investigation was necessary disciplinary action against several
employees along with changes to the
supervisory structure of the division.

When the investigation was complete,
Antione learned of the personnel
changes and the new supervisory structure and was reassigned back to his
former work group. He began the healing process with some coworkers and
observed an absolute culture change—
no one was above accountability.

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February 2018

•

All division employees attended
specifically designed Respect in the
Workforce training to ensure that
necessary skills for compliance with
expectations were available to all.

•

De-escalation training was provided by local experts to provide
employees with skills to de-escalate
hostile/angry interactions with the
public or coworkers.

•

Supervisors were provided with
more direction regarding overall
supervisor expectations and what
support they would receive in fulfilling those responsibilities.

•

The Operations Manager and
Director Lantry had follow-up
meetings with Antione to ensure
that his work environment postinvestigation was positive.

A “No Gossip” poster was developed and distributed to clarify
and reinforce that expectation.
Specific employees who were
problematic regarding gossiping
behaviors had a one-on-one discussion with their manager and
the Operations Manager and their
behavior is monitored.

•

Additional training to reinforce
expectations and develop skills is
being provided to supervisors.

•

Management and supervisors
have a better understanding of the
importance of ongoing communication with affected employees
during investigations.

Moving Forward – Actions by
Management
Following the investigation and disciplinary actions, Public Works management knew that it was important to
find ways to keep the division moving forward to create and maintain a
respectful and inclusive work environment, so we took the following steps:
•

•

Antione’s Experience during the
Investigation
Antione was angry, tense and lonely.
Because he was told not to talk about
what was going on with the investigation, he felt isolated. As a temporary
employee, he felt anxious because he
could be fired at any time. As interviews occurred, Antione felt that
groups formed to coordinate their
stories about him and to diminish
his character while he was unable to
defend himself. Even though he was
told that he was temporarily reassigned
to ensure a good work environment, it
felt like punishment to Antione to be
taken from work he loved. It was difficult to make connections in the new
work group since they knew there was
something stressful happening. Antione carried the stress of the investiga-

clear expectations about the responsibilities of supervisors to act and
document actions were reinforced.

tion on his shoulders for weeks without
respite and it affected his whole world.

The department provided opportunities for meetings between
Antione and specific employees
so that apologies could be made.
We also ensured that the apologies were complete discussions
with resolution.
Personnel changes that had to
occur were very carefully arranged
to ensure respect to all and to
minimize conflicts/interaction
with employees.

•

At a division-wide meeting held
immediately after the personnel changes, we provided a clear
explanation of how we intended
to move forward and what we
expected in the workplace.

•

Expectations about workplace
conduct were reinforced and made
clear to all employees in meetings
held by the Operations Manager.
Beyond discussion of individual
behavioral expectations, this
included clear expectations of
standing up for others as well as
reporting unacceptable behaviors
to a supervisor.

•

/

“Labor Management 101” training
was provided to supervisors and
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Culture change across the entire work
environment will continue to be a work
in progress and requires monitoring.

Reasons for Sharing –
Making a Path
The entire situation—from dealing
with harassing behaviors, to working
through the investigation—was very
stressful for Antione and affected every
part of his life. He chose to stand up to
model the behavior he wanted his child
to learn and to make sure that others
would not experience the same harassment. He took a negative experience
and turned it into a positive outcome so
that others have a better path to enter
our workforce and be welcomed.
We want everyone to feel safe and
respected in our workplace, and that did
not happen in this case. When we discovered the problem, we addressed it and
we worked—and continue to work—on
improving our workplace culture.
We hope that others can learn from
our experience. When inappropriate
workplace actions are identified and
addressed, a culture of common respect
can develop. This leads to a favorable
and more productive work environment for all.

Questions and Considerations for
Agencies, Companies, and Work
Groups
•

•

What can your agency/company
do to ensure that you find and
eliminate a similar situation?

•

•

Consider what steps you can
take to determine if anyone in
your work group is experiencing
such harassing and non-inclusive behaviors.
Consider how you can increase
awareness in your work group

Consider what level of confidence exists in your work group
to bring necessary incidents
forward for resolution, investigation, etc. Is there a lack of reporting due to lack of confidence in
an effective resolution?

•

Consider how you would recognize this situation in your own
workplace. Are you watching for
it? Do you have processes in place
to address it?

Beverly Ann Farraher can be reached at
(651) 266-9820 or beverly.farraher@
ci.stpaul.mn.us.

Consider what environment—
overt or hidden—is experienced by
anyone different than the majority
in your work group.

•

about how this type of situation
affects people of color and/or
anyone who is different from the
majority of the work group.

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29

Recognize Your Leaders:
Christopher L. Wannamaker
A simple definition of leadership is that
leadership is the art of motivating a
group of people to act towards achieving
a common goal. Many times we find
ourselves thinking of leaders being only
at the top of an organization. Not so.
Leaders are found at all levels within
our public works organizations. Most
often, they are anonymous; they are
simply doing their jobs and yet, their
actions impact many.
Look around your organization and
find someone to recognize for a specific
project they have done. It could be your
manager, first-line supervisor, assistant,
or janitor. Submit the name of the
individual and a brief summary of the
project you would like to recognize them
for to Deanne Cross at dcross@apwa.net.
All submissions will be reviewed
by members of the Leadership &
Management Committee. Those
individuals selected will be recognized
in a future issue of the APWA Reporter.

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Chris Wannamaker

P

icture a nine-year-old boy enthusiastically playing
in the mud on one of the islands off Charleston,
South Carolina. Notice how he inspects the insect
life and checks for any sea life that might come
close to shore—all while he builds castles in the
mud. Fast-forward about 25 years—the boy is now a man,
still in Charleston, still willing to put his hands in the mud,
and still fascinated by his surroundings.
Meet Chris Wannamaker, this month’s subject for the “Recognize Your Leaders” series. Chris is the stormwater program
manager for Charleston County Government, an area with
a population of approximately 100,000. He was nominated
by Stuart Ruelle, the County’s stormwater utility coordinator, for the initiative and drive Chris displayed in success-

fully winning the Charleston County Council’s approval
to increase the stormwater utility fee from $36 to $72—a
seldom-heard-of 100% increase.
Chris oversaw the updated calculation of the stormwater fee,
the new projects the fee increase would fund, and prepared
the stormwater staff to defend the increase of the fee and the
stormwater program as a whole. Oh, and he did this while
also attending every Council meeting for six communities.
So, how did he convince them to increase the fee so much?
“Well, we essentially showed council everything over and
over for six months. Presentations with how much money
we had spent, on what we had spent it, and what the
increase was for—TMDL compliance and SCDHEC requirements—this was new to Charleston County,” said Chris.
“We needed at least $48 to feel confident that we would not
operate in the negative, but we also showed them that we
could hire 10 additional people for $72, which was us still
trying to recover from layoffs during the downturn in 2008
and 2009.”
The stormwater program is responsible for rural road
improvements (preparing a road to be paved), Stormwater
MS4 compliance (for Unincorporated Charleston County,
James Island, Isle of Palms, Sullivan’s Island, Folly Beach,
and Lincolnville). There’s also easement/right-of-way
encroachment permitting, traffic calming requests, drainage
projects—and everything in between, according to Chris.
The Charleston County Stormwater Management Program is
a federally mandated program, which was created in 2006 to
meet federal and state requirements related to water quality.
Not surprisingly, this coastal area is riddled with canals and
drainage ditches, and in 2015 it saw two crippling natural
events. February brought a massive ice storm, and in October tragedy struck again with a 1,000-year flood. Both left
Charleston County reeling, but getting a stornmwater fee
increase didn’t come easily for the agency.
“Any sort of monetary increase is going to be met with resistance,” said Stuart Ruelle. “Challenges experienced included
pushback from the citizens of the six communities and their
council members.”

Chris worked with a consulting agency, council members from the six communities, their directors of public
works, and citizens from the different communities. In the
end, Charleston and a couple of the other municipalities
approved the hike to $72 annually, and the other smaller
ones approved a $48 rate. The hard work of Chris and his
team will allow the County to be proactive in complying
with federal and state stormwater requirements.
Something that wasn’t included on the nomination form
Stuart submitted was revealed as Chris searched on his computer for facts and figures while being interviewed. It may go
as an unsung accomplishment, but Chris also initiated an
in-house project that has taken the agency out of the microfiche era and into the world of digital records. Recognizing
it was difficult to go to another location to search a file box
when he needed information, Chris made a proposal and
received $40,000 to begin digitizing all of their files. So far
about 80% have been digitized, some dating back to 1918.
A graduate of The Citadel and the University of Akron, Chris
is a civil engineer specializing in environmental studies and
water treatment, who went to work for a small private firm
after graduating. That job ended when there was a downturn in the economy, after which Chris “transitioned” into
public works. In his direct but good-humored way, he said
transitioned sounds better than being “laid off.” Chris has
been with the agency about seven years, including the nine
months he served as a temporary hire, and in his current
position about eight months.
He said he became an engineer because he was good at math.
His fascination with environmental issues he links back to
that little boy playing in the mud, and when asked what he
hopes to accomplish in his career, Chris said he wants to
gain wisdom.
“I want to be able to sponge up knowledge, and I want to
have something to sponge up,” said Chris.
May he never be disappointed.

“What does our generation owe to generations yet
unborn? …there is an order in the universe which
must be respected, and… the human person,
endowed with the capability of choosing freely, has
a grave responsibility to preserve this order for the
well-being of future generations.”
– Pope John Paul II (1920-2005)
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IN & AROUND APWA
Government Affairs
staff visits D.C.
Department of
Public Works

O

n December 18, 2017, APWA Government Affairs staff visited the
D.C. Department of Public Works Fleet
Management Administration where
they received a behind-the-scenes tour
of the facility and had the opportunity
to meet professionals responsible for
a variety of functions throughout the
department.

Dustin Keelty receives
Special Achievement award

F

rom Lisa M. Schaeffler, Assistant Public Works Director, Town of Williston, Vermont: “Rick Merson and I
attended the Milton, VT Selectboard meeting last night
[Dec. 18] to present Dustin Keelty his Special Achievement award. These pictures do not do the moment justice. The room was packed with many of his supporters
sporting their ‘Keelty Strong’ shirts, including 5 of the
6 members of the staff and Selectboard. Fire, Police and
rescue turned out as well as many of the DPW crew, who
stopped plowing for the presentation. If you were not
aware, Dustin was diagnosed recently with ALS, but continues to work and do what is best for the Town. It truly
was an experience I will never forget. When presented
the award Dustin was very choked up. Thanks Rick
for driving up in the snow storm and thank all on the
awards committee for making such an amazing person
realize that all his hard work does not go on unnoticed.”
(In the photo, Dustin Keelty receives the award from
Richard P. Merson, Director of Public Works, Town of
Needham, Massachusetts.)

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WASHINGTON INSIGHT

Water: Out of sight, out of mind
Sean Garcia
Government Affairs Manager
American Public Works Association
Washington, D.C.

H

aving worked on water
infrastructure issues for
over five years now, I can
tell you that the phrase
“out of sight, out of mind”
applies very aptly to the needs in the
sector. For most, unless there are specific issues related to providing water
and wastewater service, the issue just
doesn’t occupy a spot in the public
consciousness.
And while there is most definitely
a need for greater investment at the
federal level, which I will get into later,
there is also a need to change the way
the federal government, states, and
cities think about water. On the federal level, wastewater and stormwater
activities are regulated under the Clean
Water Act (CWA), while drinking water
activities are ruled by the Safe Drinking
Water Act (SDWA). Because of this fact,
localities usually think of compliance
issues in terms of one regulatory scheme
or the other, rather than as how to meet
compliance standards for all water they
provide to their community. As a result,
investments in water infrastructure
usually only take into consideration one
element or the other, rather than the
overall level of service.
In a report by the National Academy of
Public Administration, titled “Developing a New Framework for Community
Affordability of Clean Water Services,”
the panel of fellows recommended
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that the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) consider using the current framework for Financial Capability
Assessment to include both clean water
(wastewater) and drinking water elements. The report states, “This recommendation for EPA to adopt a broader,
more holistic perspective in pursuing
all its water quality goals is consistent
with the ‘One-Water’ concept advocated by a number of water industry
stakeholders… communities may be
able to gain even greater flexibility and
ability to craft cost-effective solutions by
developing one-water integrated plans
under which the proponents review all
of their outstanding clean water and
drinking water challenges and then set
priorities on how available financial
resources should be deployed to address
the highest-priority wastewater and
drinking water problems first.”
However, changing how we think
about our water infrastructure will
only do so much in helping solve the
underlying issues. There is still the
need for real investment at the federal
level. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), in 2014 the
federal government spent 2.7 percent
of total expenditures on transportation
and water infrastructure, which is less
than half of peak spending of 6 percent
in 1965. Additionally, water infrastructure gets a small percentage of that
overall total, with water utilities receiving only 5% of the $96 billion spent
February 2018

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33

that year. These water utilities are still
expected to meet federal requirements
for water quality standards, so state
and local governments have invested
their own money, to the tune of 96%
of overall spending on water infrastructure in 2014.
And the need for more investment is
out there. According to EPA’s Clean

Watershed Needs Survey and Drinking
Water Needs Survey, there is over $655
billion needed in water infrastructure
investment over the next 20 years. And
there are additional, unforeseen needs
as well. With additional focus on lead
service lines after the events in Flint,
Michigan, the issue of full replacement of these lines has been debated

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THE POWER OF
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at the state, local, and federal levels.
Estimated costs for replacement range
from $2500 to more than $8000 per
line, which would mean that replacing
all the estimated 6.5 to 10 million lines
throughout the country would range
from $16 billion to $80 billion.
And while the need for investment
speaks for itself, there is also an economic argument for investing in water
infrastructure. According to the Value
of Water Campaign, “For every $1
million invested in water infrastructure, it is estimated that upwards of
fifteen jobs are generated throughout
the economy.” According to water
and wastewater organizations, “Every
$1 invested in water and wastewater
infrastructure increases long-term GDP
by $6.35. Studies also show that the
U.S. economy would stand to gain over
$200 billion in annual economic activity and 1.3 million jobs over a ten-year
period by meeting its water infrastructure needs. But, without this investment, breakdowns in water supply,
treatment, and wastewater capacity are
projected to cost manufacturers and
other businesses $7.5 trillion in lost
sales and $4.1 trillion in lost GDP from
2011 to 2040.”
So, with these facts, what can you do
to help make the case for increased
investment in water infrastructure?
First, make sure you contact your
House and Senate members and let
them know how water infrastructure
affects your community. Contact their
state and Washington, D.C. staff,
and let them know how public works
“works” for clean and safe water, and
why they should invest now. Both
the White House and Congress are
planning on rolling out infrastructure
plans in the new year, and APWA Government Affairs staff will be working
to ensure that water infrastructure
is part of those plans. Your help in
putting the local face on this national
issue is important.
For more information, contact Sean
Garcia of the APWA Government
Affairs team at sgarcia@apwa.net.

GAC INSIGHT

Be a Water Advocate
How proposed tax reforms will raise property and
state income taxes

H

Eric J. Labelle, P.E., PWLF
Public Services Director, Town of Kennebunk, Maine
APWA Maine Chapter Delegate
Member, APWA Government Affairs Committee
ow frequently do we check our water and sewer bills?
While we debate the need to raise or lower taxes, we
rarely discuss water and sewer bills and the justifications for the increases. The often forgotten other
household expense for water is stormwater.

It is said that the federal government is a “zero sum game.”
There is no stomach for raising taxes, so one department is
cut to benefit another. However, there are other ways the
federal government can raise additional revenues on the
backs of state and municipal governments.
During the most recent tax reform discussions, it was
proposed to remove the tax exemption status for municipal
bonds to increase federal revenues. Of course, this would
have resulted in an increase to state and municipal taxes.
The National League of Cities estimates that local governments save 25 to 30 percent on interest costs on tax-exempt
municipal bonds and estimate the following percentages of
public infrastructure are funded with these bonds:

This is only one example on how water and sewer fees could
have increased with no improvement to infrastructure or
quality of water. Other impacts driving up costs of water and
wastewater are regulatory requirements such as permits and
consent decrees.
To be clear, I am very much a fan of the Clean Water Act.
We have come a long way from the days of the Cuyahoga
River being so polluted that it burned in 1969. The Clean
Water Act has made great strides since 1972, providing
federal funding to upgrade water and wastewater facili-

ties well into the 1980s. However, federal grants have been
reduced to possibly State Revolving Funds (SRFs) which are
also being targeted for elimination by the legislators. The
burden for funding regulatory requirements and infrastructure improvements has largely been shifted to ratepayers
and taxpayers.

Water and Sewer Rates have been outpacing
our income
Black & Veatch conducted a survey of the 50 largest cities
between 2001 and 2013, comparing trends in the water
and wastewater rates to Consumer Price Index for all Urban
Consumers (CPI-U). The survey found the following range of
increases in rates depending on usage.

Years 2001 to 2013
Water – 5.6% to 6.3% increase
Sewer – 5.7% to 6.8% increase
CPI – 2.4% increase
The increase may not seem very dramatic; however, we
must consider the economic downturn in 2008. What is
most important is the trend which is quickly outpacing our
income, and reducing our expendable income.
Those most impacted are those with lower incomes. The
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has established an
affordability guideline to be as follows:

EPA Affordability Guidelines
Water – 2% of median household income
Sewer – 2.5% of median household income
The Black & Veatch survey estimated in 2011 that the average income was just $50,000 per year. Based on that income,
residents could afford the following:
Water – $80/month or $960/year
Sewer – $100/month or $1,200/year
At a cost of $2,160 per year, affordability becomes skewed
for lower income earners when a median is used. Much work
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35

has been done on developing new rate structures and practices; however, their implementations have been slow.

nity to legal action and/or fines should they fail to meet any
environmental permit.

How can you advocate for appropriate water, sewer, and
stormwater rates?

Anti Backsliding – Section 402(o) of the Clean Water Act
prohibits backsliding. This means that established discharge
limitations for wastewater cannot be reduced once established. This limits any flexibility for the permit regarding the
length of time for meeting the permit requirements.

This is a challenging question to answer. EPA has developed
a framework for Integrated Permitting. Integrated Permitting
is a process where a community’s environmental permits are
prioritized and brought together under one permit presumably structured to be affordable.

Challenges to developing a successful Integrated
Permitting:
Permitting Silos – While under the purview of EPA, permits
are still issued from subsets of EPA silos. Many communities
have a drinking water permit, a wastewater permit, a stormwater permit (MS4), sanitary sewer overflow permit, and a
combined sewer overflow permit. Each of these permits is
issued by individual divisions of the EPA. There are no provisions within the Clean Water Act mandating collaboration
occur amongst the divisions.
Consent Decrees – Communities which have consent
decrees for issues such as Combined Sewer Overflows (CSO)
would then be developing a plan which would also be bound
under the consent decree. This would subject the commu-

The Clean Water Act has allowed us to make incredible
progress as it relates to water and the environment. During
the seventies and eighties, federal funding was abundant
for the upgrades to our infrastructure and improving water
quality. These burdens now lie primarily on the shoulders
of the taxpayers and ratepayers. Clean water has always
been viewed as a right, and is becoming increasingly a
question of affordability.
After 35 years since the Clean Water Act was enacted, we
should be revisiting the Act to ensure that water remains
clean, available, and affordable for generations to come.
Please be involved and advocate.
Get engaged with APWA Advocacy at http://www3.apwa.
net/be_involved/APWA-Advocates.
Eric Labelle can be reached at (207) 985-4811 or elabelle@
kennebunkmaine.us.

2O18

March 5- 7, 2018 | Denver, CO
SWANApalooza.org

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Involved With Community and Urban Forestry?

There is a professional
organization waiting for you.
Confidence, competence,
and camaraderie.

Dennis Gabor,
awarded the 1971
Nobel Prize in Physics
for his discoveries
underpinning the
development of
holography, once wrote,
“The future cannot be
predicted, but futures
can be invented.”
Imagination to
Innovation is a
periodic look at
new technology and
scientific discovery
we could be using to
invent the future of
public works.

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I

t should surprise no one that a
wide variety of tech companies
is racing to develop self-driving
cars. Apart from public apprehension about giving over control to the machines, substantial
technical hurdles could delay for many
years the widespread deployment of
autonomous vehicles. But then, how
many of us would have imagined how
quickly and thoroughly we have come
to depend on cellular telephones?

Snowplows represent at best a niche
market for most of these tech companies, but an application obviously
of interest for public works. Here the
technical hurdles could be particularly challenging. For example, lasers
and radar are attracting a great deal of
research interest for detecting vehicles,
pedestrians, and other obstructions to
be avoided by an autonomous vehicle
on the highway, but what happens
when stationary objects are covered by
a blanket of snow?
Researchers have been learning how
to use GIS data and GPS devices to
provide route guidance for freight
delivery, for example, but snowplows
take breaks to clear intersections and
ramps. Giving a robot the ability and
adequate information to clear even a
well-delineated parking lot effectively
is no small task. Building the robot
with affordable sensors and controls is
another problem.
Research into vehicle-to-infrastructure
communication (often termed V2I)
may also yield ways to guide vehicles
and manage traffic. (V2I also is interesting to companies that want to attract
customers to restaurants, fueling
stations, and tourist attractions.) Laneand ROW-markers with embedded
radios could help guide plows.

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We are probably a long way from being
able to clear the snow without having
to ride in the cab of the vehicle, but
there are a few signs that researchers
are thinking about snowplows.
Some years ago a Japanese research and
development lab built a small snowplow that scooped up snow and compressed it into hard-packed ice bricks.
The prototype was designed to look
something like a friendly horseshoe
crab or beetle. Despite some positive
media reviews the device never entered
production; it used more energy than
other methods for moving the snow.
Other researchers in Japan have experimented with robots to remove snow
from construction sites.
The Institute of Navigation, an organization of professionals interested in
advancing position-determining systems (for example involving artificial
earth satellites), sponsors an annual
autonomous snowplow competition for college students and others
to design, build, and operate a fully
autonomous plow. The contest—the
seventh one was held in January 2017
as part of St. Paul, Minnesota’s Winter
Carnival—takes place on a downtown
brick-paved city street.
For clearing a small driveway there is
even a kit available for a radio controlled robot. The device uses electric
wheelchair motors and can move up to
150 pounds. But for clearing neighborhoods, cities, and highways, more
research is needed.
Andrew Lemer, Ph.D., is currently a
Senior Program Officer with the National
Academy of Sciences of the United States
of America. In addition to technical papers
and occasional articles for the Reporter, he
writes on civil infrastructure and human
settlement at www.andrewlemer.com.

ETHICS FOR PUBLIC WORKS PROFESSIONALS
This course is designed for individuals who are interested in exploring both personal and professional
ethics. This course provides practical advice on ethics and emphasizes the importance of ethical behavior
in personal and professional interactions. It provides real-world examples, as well as advice in dealing with
the non-technical aspects of our profession. CEUs: eligible for .2 CEUs upon completion.

ETHICS FOR PUBLIC WORKS SUPERVISORS
This course is designed for individuals who are interested in exploring ethics in supervision and
management. Sometimes public works professionals are faced with difficult public policy choices that
may stretch our ethical boundaries. Leading in the context of our own ethics is challenging enough,
but leaders must also manage the ethics of others and discover how to create and maintain an ethical
culture. Public works leaders must walk the talk, set the tone, hold themselves accountable, and strive to
create a culture of openness, democracy, merit, and creativity. Only by exercising the principles of ethical
leadership can we meet the challenges of the future and sustain the publicâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s trust in our decisions and
stewardship of public resources. CEUs: eligible for .2 CEUs upon completion.

Start your APWA e-Learning journey today!
For more information go to www.apwa.net/elearning or send an email to lms@apwa.net.

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APWA Reporter

CEUs: We are offering .2 CEUs for the completion of the above mentioned programs.

s we continue to look at steps
toward safe and sustainable
snowfighting, we need to give
some thought to the use of
liquids. There are a number of
aspects about liquid usage that need to
be addressed, so this is going to last a
few months for us, but it seemed appropriate to begin our “tour” of liquids by
addressing a misconception (one of
several) that I have noticed in various
press articles of late.
A number of articles have suggested
that agencies have stopped using salt in
their winter maintenance operations
by making use instead of liquids such
as beet juice, cheese whey, by-products
from wine making or beer making, and
a variety of other interesting liquids.
The mistake in these articles is that
agencies do not stop using salt when
they start to use beet juice (or whatever
the liquid may be). Rather, they are
adding the beet juice to the salt brine
they are already using.
This is where things can get a little
bit complicated. We often refer to the
tools that we use in our operations in a
form of shorthand. So, instead of saying “we use a 23% by weight salt brine
mixture, to which we add about 10%
by weight beet juice” we might say “we
use beet juice.” We know what we are
talking about, but often those to whom
we are talking (people like journalists
or politicians, or the public in general)

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will not be aware of the full context of
what we are saying.
So here is a two-pronged request. If you
are using additives such as beet juice,
please make sure you clarify what you
are using carefully when you are talking to folk who may not be as familiar
with winter maintenance operations
as you are. And if you are not using liquids yet, please do not think in terms
of using straight beet juice as your
liquid—things will not go well!
On its own, beet juice will give you a
small amount of freeze-point depression—maybe a degree or two—and will
also make your roads very sticky. It is
not an effective material to use on its
own for either anti-icing or pre-wetting
to put it mildly! So, why do people
add beet juice to their salt brine when
they are using liquids for anti-icing
or pre-wetting? Traditionally, people
have done so for two reasons: to lower
the temperatures (and as always we
are talking pavement surface temperatures here, not air temperature or
any other temperature) at which the
liquid they are using will be effective; and to enhance the persistence
of the liquid on the pavement. Let’s
take a look at both of these potential
benefits of using these additives in a
bit more detail.
We put salt (whether solid or liquid) on
the pavement to prevent snow and ice

from bonding to the pavement. We do
this so our plows can remove the snow
easily and cleanly from the pavement.
If we put down solid salt on the pavement it has to go into solution first to
prevent that bond formation. The solid
salt needs some moisture to go into
solution, and it can get this either from
us pre-wetting the salt with a liquid
prior to putting it on the road surface,
or from using liquid that is already
on the road surface to go into solution. It takes time for the solid salt to
go into solution and how long it takes
is a function of how cold the pavement is and also how much moisture
there is available to dissolve the salt.
In the lab, salt will go into solution at
temperatures as low as -6˚F but in the
field, once we get below about 15˚F
(pavement temperature) it takes a long
time for the salt to go into solution and
work. That explains why we tend not to
use salt when pavement temperatures
get lower than about 15˚F, because
often before it gets a chance to work it
will be plowed off the road by a following truck.
So, how does adding a liquid like beet
juice help with this? Well, we do see a
reduction in the operating temperature
range when we add beet juice (or other
materials) to our salt or salt brine; however, the reduction in operating temperature is only going to be a degree or
two. This does make sense. If you have
salt brine and you make a mixture that
is 90% salt brine and 10% beet juice,
the beet juice is not going to have a
huge impact on the performance of
the salt brine. The same is true if you
add other chlorides instead of or as
well as the beet juice. Calcium chloride will melt in the laboratory down
below -60˚F (and in the field it can be
effective down to pavement temperatures between 0˚F and -10˚F—these are
extremely rare pavement temperatures
for us to experience in the lower 48
states). But adding 5% calcium chloride to salt brine is not suddenly going
to reduce its working temperature to
-10˚F! It will give you a few degrees

at most. So, while there is a lot of talk
about how adding beet juice or other
liquids to salt brine allows you to operate at lower pavement temperatures,
this is rather more hype than fact.
Where people have found that adding things like beet juice can help is
in helping the liquid stay on the road.
Beet juice (and most of the other things
that are being added to salt brine) is
rather sticky and this stickiness (or persistence, if you want a more scientific
sounding word!) can be very helpful
operationally. There is evidence that
adding beet juice in small quantities (in
the range of 5 to 10% by weight) to salt
brine can help it stay on the road and
be effective for several days longer than
straight salt brine.
So, should you add things like beet
juice to your salt brine? The answer,
as always, is “it depends.” If you are
not currently using liquids, then it
is much simpler for you to start with
straight salt brine, which can be easily
made onsite using a variety of different
brine makers that are available on the
market. Get that working for you first
before you consider adding anything
to the salt brine. If you are already
using salt brine, then you need to ask
whether as you use it you experience
situations where a performance boost
(in the area of persistence or stickiness)
would be useful to you. If so, it might
be worth taking a look at it. But if you
do start using it, remember that not
everyone understands that the beet
juice is an additive and not the whole
kit and caboodle!
Disclaimer: The information contained
in this article is intended as general
information only. It does not constitute an attempt to establish industry
best practices or guidelines. The Salt
Institute and its officers, personnel,
agents and members disclaim any
and all liability for any harm, injury
or damages whatsoever (including,
without limitation, direct, indirect,
consequential, incidental, or punitive)
arising out of the use of, or inability to
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/

use, any of the information in this publication or the materials, information
or procedures or referenced therein.
Readers should use their own independent judgment with the assistance of
professionals and experts when appropriate, to determine the practices and
procedures that they decide to follow
in their ordinary course of business.
Wilfrid Nixon can be reached at (239)
231-3305 or wilf@saltinstitute.org.

DON’T MISS
THIS CHANCE…
TO GET IN THE

APWA REPORTER’S

SOLID WASTE
MANAGEMENT ISSUE
Don’t miss this
opportunity to advertise
in the March issue
which focuses on solid
waste collection and
disposal, recycling, waste
reduction and air quality.

The deadline to
reserve your space is
February 9
The materials are
due by
February 13
Bonus: advertise and
we’ll give you a free listing
in our “Products in the
News” column!

CALL FOX ASSOCIATES AT
(312) 644-3888

February 2018

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APWA Reporter

41

LEADING FROM THE FRONTLINES

Animal Services employee Dennis Flory was recognized by Columbia City Council for coming to the rescue of a resident’s pets during a house fire.

ccording to a study by Bersin
and Associates, the number
one type of recognition that
organizations have in place
is for recognizing years of
service. While it’s good to recognize
longevity, if that’s the only recognition program you have in place,
you’re in jeopardy of losing some
good employees.

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We all feel the need to be recognized
and to feel a sense of achievement for
our work. And if you’re a public works
employee working under stressful situations as we sometimes do, recognition every five years doesn’t always
work. Millennials—the future of our
departments—prefer to be recognized
in real time and at least once a month,
according to a recent study done by
PricewaterhouseCoopers. If they don’t

get what they’re looking for before five
years, they’re likely to be at another
job by the time their tenure recognition is scheduled.

media channels like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

No matter what generation your
employees are from, praise and recognition are essential to an outstanding
workplace. All employees want to be
respected and valued for their contribution. This is true for all employees,
but especially the public works employees, who truly are unsung heroes.

The City of Columbia recognizes both
tenure (via pins presented by department heads) and a monthly Employee
of the Month program, but Public
Works Department head Robert Anderson pays special attention to employees
who go above and beyond the call of
duty. He does this by recognizing them
at meetings, sending staff e-mails and/
or giving the employee a big thankyou and pat on the back. Exceptional
achievements are also recognized at
City Council meetings.

So what does a successful employee
appreciation program look like? Each
organization is different, and what
works for one might not work for
another. But, generally speaking, recognition programs should be comprehensive and feedback should be given on a
regular basis.
It’s not enough to simply have a recognition program in place and assume
that all of your employees will automatically feel as though their contributions are appreciated. You have to come
up with staff recognition ideas that
actually work.

2. City of Columbia, South
Carolina

At one Council meeting, two Public
Works employees were recognized:
•

•

Solid Waste employee Vince Gallman, who witnessed a hit and run
and assisted an injured moped
driver until authorities arrived;
Animal Services employee Dennis
Flory, who saw a house ablaze and
helped the homeowner remove her
pets, likely saving their lives.

To many, receiving
sincere thanks is more
important than receiving
something tangible...
3. Lexington County, South
Carolina
Lexington County Public Works Director Wrenn Barrett says that while his
County has recognition programs,
he felt that there should be a separate
award for public works employees. In
2015, Barrett created the Public Works
Achievement Award, which recognizes
two employees per year during Public
Works Week. Recipients are nominated from within the department and
chosen by a committee consisting of
Barrett and the division directors.
One of the first award recipients was
Kelly Williams, Crew Leader and Drainage Supervisor, an 18-year veteran with
the County.
“Because of Kelly’s continuous efforts
to always provide the highest public

Three agencies in the South Carolina
Midlands region have devised different, but great examples of employee
recognition:

1. West Columbia, South Carolina
In West Columbia, South Carolina,
Public Works Director Jamie Hook recognizes employees through the City’s
monthly Employee Spotlight program.
The program was created in early 2017
and literally turns the spotlight on
selected employees. Since the program’s inception, three Public Works
employees have been spotlighted. This
is a budget-friendly program; other
than staff time, there are no expenses.
The City’s Public Information Office
creates a feature article on the selected
employee, and then shares it citywide
on employee bulletin boards, e-mails
and e-newsletters, and through social

Solid Waste driver Vincent Gallman was recently recognized for helping a driver injured in a hit-and-run.

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service with the limited resources available, this Public Works Achievement
Award speaks to the challenges that all
public servants are faced with each and
every day,” says Barrett. “This recognition is especially important because of
the reactive nature of the work we do in
public works and because most of our
work and public service goes without
positive reinforcement.”
To many, receiving sincere thanks is
more important than receiving something tangible, and the three programs
featured above fit into that model. All
operate on little to no budget as there
are no tangible expenses associated
with the program.
Employees also enjoy recognition
through personal, written, electronic
and public praise from those they
respect at work, given in a timely, specific and sincere way.
Spontaneously praising employees
is also highly effective. It serves as
immediate and powerful reinforcement
for recognized employees and sets an
example to other employees of desired
behavior that aligns with organizational objectives. It gives individuals and
teams at all levels the opportunity to
recognize good work by other employees and teams, and it also gives the
opportunity for them to be recognized
on the spot for their own good work.
City of Columbia Assistant Superintendent of Solid Waste Samantha
Yager, a former Employee of the
Month and Employee of the Year, uses
this method herself.
“Sometimes I think my guys don’t realize how much I see and pay attention
[to], so I think it’s a little bit of a shock
when I give them kudos,” says Yager. “I
love to see that little smile on their faces
after I tell them good job because I know
they appreciate being recognized.”

Solid Waste Assistant Superintendent Samantha Yager, recognized as the City of Columbia’s 2016 Employee of
the Year, is a big believer in recognizing her employees.

“Sometimes I think my guys don’t realize how much I
see and pay attention [to], so I think it’s a little bit of a
shock when I give them kudos.”
recognize others and take the initiative to do something. It may be as
simple as thanking a colleague for a
job well done. Employee recognition
is everyone’s job, and it can contribute
dramatically to a productive and happy
workplace.
The best formula for recognizing an
individual for their efforts is:
•

Thank the person by name.

•

Specifically state what they did that
is being recognized. It is vital to be
specific because it identifies and
reinforces the desired behavior.

Even if you aren’t a manager, you
can be alert for opportunities to
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•

Explain how the behavior made
you feel (assuming you felt some
pride or respect for their accomplishment!).

•

Point out the value added to
the team or organization by the
behavior.

•

Thank the person again by name
for their contribution.

Mary Pat Baldauf can be reached at (803)
545-2722 or mpbaldauf@columbiasc.
net.

A state DOT transportation control center provides a snapshot of “Smart State”
technology investments critical to a future vision of data-driven decision making
for specific outcomes.

e’re all aware that our
nation’s infrastructure is in
tough shape; for some of
us it’s better locally than at
the state or national level,
and for some it’s worse. But for all of
us, we are constantly aware of the need
for more funds and do our best to make
ends meet.

might be useful to you and whoever
the advocacy partners are in your
state. Each idea was created by a team
of people—some just like you. And
these people from different organizations connected over a common goal
and took the initiative to make bold,
concise policy suggestions with a clear
value proposition.

The following is a story of initiatives to
supplement local infrastructure funding in Michigan, including a shift to
asset management policy. Maybe each
idea is not what would help you in
your state, but the enabling documents

The linked documents provide more
detail on goals, outcomes, and responsible agencies for implementation,
and could easily be adapted to your
situation. While these goals, outcomes,
and agencies may vary from one place

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to another, perhaps they are of some
value in charting a course in your
state. Even if you haven’t been in a role
of seeking more funding, you might
someday be asked what you need to
better do your job, or to otherwise
contribute to a funding improvement.
How would you respond?
It seems that every interest group
(including us) has a similar message for
local, state, and federal legislators: “We
need more money for our important service.”
It is notable that asset management is
integral to many of the efforts noted
below, and the idea of a “lowest lifecycle cost” approach to provide services
has resonated well with legislators.
This message is received as a different
value proposition than just “We want
more money.”

2002 – Michigan forms
Transportation Asset
Management Council (TAMC).
The TAMC has been responsible for creating a statewide reporting and analysis
platform for all federal and state aid
roads and bridges, which includes a
uniform condition assessment system.
Free reporting software and improved
user interface are the carrot; the possibility that participation might be
directly tied to funding is a potential
stick.
Public Act 499 of 2002 provided the
core direction. “In order to provide a
coordinated, unified effort by the various
roadway agencies within the state, the
transportation asset management council
is hereby created within the state transportation commission and is charged with
advising the commission on a statewide
asset management strategy and the
processes and necessary tools needed to
implement such a strategy beginning with
the federal-aid eligible highway system,
and once completed, continuing on with
the county road and municipal systems, in
a cost-effective, efficient manner.”
The TAMC is comprised of professionals from county road commissions,
cities, a county commissioner, a township official, regional and metropolitan planning organizations, and state
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February 2018

transportation department personnel.
The TAMC reports directly to the State
Transportation Commission, and
Council members are appointed to
three-year terms.
Included with the free software is
a dashboard tool or application.
Dashboards are customizable,
publicly accessible and provide a
transparent way of showing the
condition, operation, and investment
in Michigan’s public road system,
including accident (crash) data
if desired. Pavement condition
information is based on paved surface
ratings for state highways as well
as roads under the jurisdiction of
Michigan’s counties, cities and villages.
You can get a better idea at: http://
www.mcgi.state.mi.us/mitrp/Data/
PaserDashboard.aspx.
Today, the TAMC is currently expanding the practice of asset management
statewide to enhance the productivity
of investing in Michigan’s roads and
bridges through coordination and
collaboration among state and local
transportation agencies. The Council’s
activities include surveying and reporting the condition of roads and bridges
by functional classification categories
and assessing completed and planned
investments in roads and bridges. The
Council also provides education and
training on the benefits of developing
road improvement programs through
the use of asset management principles
and procedures.

2002 - $1B Great Lakes Water
Quality Bond
This 2002 bond issue had over 60%
voter support, as did three prior bonds
in 1968 (70.5%), 1988 (76+%) and
1998 (66%). So in 2002, Public Acts
396, 397 and 398 took effect, based on
this voter-approved ballot initiative.
The primary purpose was to expand
the State Revolving Loan Fund (SRF)
and allow new project types, or “to
finance sewage treatment works projects,
stormwater projects, and nonpoint source
projects that improve the quality of the
waters of the state.”

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To help address continued reduction
of untreated sewage overflows, among
other things, these Acts created a
new revolving fund called the Strategic Water Quality Initiatives Fund
(SWQIF). The SWQIF provides lowinterest loans to municipalities for two
specific kinds of projects that currently
do not qualify for SRF assistance: first,
improvements to reduce or eliminate the amount of groundwater or
stormwater entering sanitary sewer
leafs or combined sewer leads; second,
upgrades or replacements of failing
onsite systems that are adversely affecting public health or the environment,
or both. It is notable that about 2.5
million residents use septic fields, and
Michigan has no statewide septic regulation, resulting in a high rate of failed
systems remaining in use.

2010-13 – A Compelling Carrot
A cross-section of stakeholders were
asked what they would like to see in a
new grant program—not to complain
about existing programs but to describe
specific elements that were done well,
with a goal of taking the best of the
best. Of course, lowering the cost of
application and a request for a higher
ratio of grant to match were at the
top of the list. Because the 2002 bond
initiative had not been fully obligated,
a small group successfully leads a lobbying effort for “S2 grants” for Storm
and Sanitary projects (the S2 part). This
diverse group included municipal associations (county, city, and township),
consulting engineers, contractors, and
environmentalists to name a core few.
In December 2010, legislation was
signed to commit $40 million in S2
grants. The grants were available in
time to facilitate ARRA projects, and
to cover planning, design and user
charge systems for potential State
Revolving Fund (SRF) and Strategic
Water Quality Initiatives Fund (SWQIF) applicants. The grants covered 90
percent of eligible costs.
The state Department of Environmental Quality administered the S2 grant
program to provide communities
across Michigan with up to $1 mil-

lion in grant assistance, for planning
and design tasks. The state notes that
“properly updated and maintained sewer
infrastructure is essential to reducing
water pollution.” These grants also saved
money for residents and commercial
customers, but projects had to be constructed within three years of reimbursement for completed design, either
with municipal funds or through use
of the SRF or the grant monies must
be returned. Link to S2 grant application: http://www.michigan.gov/
documents/deq/deq-ess-mfs-SRF-S2app2_361962_7.pdf.

2010-11 – More Asset
Management Efforts
It is notable that most infrastructure
funding sources generally target
replacement without incenting or
funding maintenance that could defer
the need for replacement—possibly
reducing annualized costs. To try to
incent more investment in maintenance and therefore more efficient use
of capital, a small group worked up a
strategy to lobby for asset management
(AM) funding. Because the 2002 bond
issue is still largely not obligated, similar to the S2 effort stakeholders end up
successfully crafting a program with
the legislature when most general fund
programs are still being cut annually
due to fallout from the 2008 financial
crisis. Leading to…

Dec 2012 – Public Act 511 of 2012
(SAW)
PA 511 passes to fund a new grant and
loan program called Stormwater, Asset
Management, and Wastewater (SAW) in
2013—$450M of 90% grant money to
do AM planning for sanitary and storm.
In turn, SAW provides low-interest
loans to municipalities to construct
projects that are identified in an asset
management plan and improve water
quality. The SAW loan is similar to an
SRF loan, yet does not include federal
requirements. The SAW grants are for
these activities: planning and design of
a stormwater or wastewater project to
improve water quality, stormwater management plan, asset management plan
for stormwater or wastewater, and the

demonstration of innovative technology stormwater or wastewater projects.
Over 600 communities applied,
initially seeking over $630M in funding. Some 30 communities have not
currently been allocated funds in what
is now the fifth and final year of the
program. However, because some communities have spent less, early rounds
have shown that there will be the ability to fund some of the remaining communities as each year of the program is
closed out.

March 2016 – Governor forms
21st Century Infrastructure
Commission
Michigan Governor Rick Snyder issued
Executive Order 2016-5 appointing
a Commission to evaluate the current state of infrastructure (amount,
condition, and funding needs), then
describe the future vision while
establishing goals to get there. 110
recommendations result, including
funding needs and a recommendation
for a statewide transition to “an asset
management culture” for the more than
4,000 agencies delivering infrastructure services to the public.
Report and Executive Order at: http://
tinyurl.com/MI21futinf.
We discovered that North Carolina has
established a similar report resulting
from a series of steps after formation of
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a State Water Infrastructure Commission during 2006-08, and learn other
states have taken some steps such as
forming state Infrastructure Councils
with varying roles.

April 2017 – Regional Asset
Management Pilot
Seeking to keep momentum on an issue
seen in the Governor’s office as critical
to the state’s economy, in addition to
immediately allocating some $65M
in the 2018 budget for critical and
emergency infrastructure, Governor
Snyder issues Executive Directive 20171 establishing a committee to develop
statewide standards, platform and
governance for Water Asset Management. Pilot is funded at approximately
$2-3M. Executive Directive 2017-1 link
is here: http://www.michigan.gov/
documents/snyder/Executive_Directive_2017-1_556475_7.pdf.
The Pilot report is due in March 2018,
so nothing is final, but current thinking
is that there will be legislation to form
an Asset Management Council that will
oversee the existing TAMC and a parallel Water Asset Management Council
(WAMC). The geographic area of the
pilot encompasses some 65 agencies
and over half of the state’s population.
The report will address scalability as
agencies serving 1,000 to 1,000,000 or
more are included in the pilot, which
has over 90 participating agencies.
Evan Pratt can be reached at (734) 2226860 or pratte@ewashtenaw.org.
February 2018

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From Pilot Scale to City Scale:
Implementing a large-scale
green infrastructure program
in Philadelphia
Introduction

The Philadelphia Water Department
(PWD), the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s water, wastewater,
and stormwater utility, completed a
Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Long
Term Control Plan Update in 2009,
a requirement of its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES) permits. In 2011, that update,
with some modifications, was authorized for implementation through a
Consent Order and Agreement (COA)
with the Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection. The COA
defines a Water Quality Based Effluent
Limit including CSO volume reduction, pollutant load reduction, and
implementation of green stormwater
infrastructure, aimed at compliance
with water quality requirements of
the Clean Water Act and National
CSO Policy by the end of the 25-year
implementation period. The COA has
now entered its sixth year of implementation. The program represents an
innovative approach to manage urban
water resources effectively through a
combination of traditional infrastructure and green infrastructure distributed throughout the landscape, often
incorporating trees and vegetation to
provide community amenities.
In order for green infrastructure to
make a contribution to combined
sewer overflow control, it is necessary
to bring a significant portion of the
drainage area tributary to the sewer
system under control. Prior to completion of the COA, PWD had completed
a variety of site-scale pilot and demonstration projects to help build public,

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institutional and political support for
taking the next step to a full-scale program. The Philadelphia program has
met the challenges of scaling up from
an early pilot-scale green infrastructure
program to a city-scale program where
many program elements are needed to
allow green infrastructure to play a key
role in the daily operation of the urban
water system.

Key Program Elements
Regulatory Compliance Tracking and
Reporting. As a program scales up, one
challenge is the ever-increasing amount
of data that must be managed. Over
time, PWD has developed increasingly
sophisticated information management
systems for tracking and reporting activities internally and to regulatory agencies. Elements that are important to
track include implementation status of
projects, geographic data such as potential and actual green infrastructure
locations, design and as-built properties
of constructed sites, cost and monitoring data. In addition to data storage, a
program of data quality management,
analysis and visualization capabilities is
important to take full advantage of the
data that is being collected.
Implementation Planning. In the
pilot phase, a small number of sites
were selected that minimized technical
and institutional challenges of implementation. As the program increases in
scale, sites that pose more challenges
need to be considered. Spatial planning plays an important role early in
the process of bringing the program to
scale. Planning staff help to identify
opportunities to implement storm-

GreenIT is the custom-designed database for green stormwater infrastructure in Philadelphia.

water management practices on the
ground on a variety of land use and
land ownership types. Planners work to
identify these opportunities, understand how they fit into other planning
and development initiatives occurring
in the city, and communicate the most
promising sites to the engineering
staff.
Partnerships and Public Outreach.
PWD’s early demonstration projects
were implemented primarily on public
lands with enthusiastic stakeholders.
Because a large-scale program requires
implementation on many more land
use and land ownership types, PWD
has worked with a number of other
City departments and public agencies.
Examples include the Philadelphia
Streets Department, Philadelphia Parks
and Recreation, Philadelphia Planning
Commission, gas and electric utilities,
and redevelopment and development
authorities. Successful implementation at the city scale also has required
outreach to members of the public and
to the political leadership.
Measures to Address Barriers. To be
successful, a large-scale implementation program needs to address a

number of barriers to adoption of new
technology and practices in existing
urban areas. Longstanding practices,
risk management concerns, and economic pressures affect the time and
effort professionals can spend acquiring and applying new knowledge,
both in the public sector and in the
private sector. Established policies and
practices at existing wastewater and
stormwater utilities take time to adapt,
as new activities may be outside the
historic mission of utilities. Local codes
and ordinances, state and federal regulations can present barriers.
Design Standards. In the demonstration phase for green infrastructure or
any new technology, it may be acceptable for planning and design to take
more time and effort than traditional
capital projects, as new approaches
are developed. An important step in
developing a practical implementation
program with a high probability of
success is developing the “playbook”
for design—engineering design and
performance criteria, planning and
design manuals, standard details and
technical specifications. These materials provide standardized procedures
that help to streamline design and
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reduce uncertainty in the engineering
process, helping to make stormwater
management part of the “business as
usual” development and infrastructure
renewal process.
Codes and Ordinances. While early
pilot projects focused on public land,
development on privately owned land
affects a significant fraction of a city’s
drainage area and land cover over long
periods of time. In cities like Philadelphia that are nearly built-out, incorporating stormwater management into
redevelopment of privately-owned
sites and public infrastructure renewal
is important to bring enough of the
drainage area under control over time
to play a role in stormwater management. Stormwater ordinance language
can help ensure that stormwater
management is incorporated into
development projects, including redevelopment projects. In Philadelphia,
stormwater management requirements
have been tied to earth disturbance,
which occurs on both new development and redevelopment sites.
Financial Incentives. To reach a
portion of the privately-owned land
that is not expected to redevelop
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over the course of the 25-year water
quality compliance implementation
period, Philadelphia has chosen to
offer a range of financial incentives
to landowners to consider retrofitting
existing sites with stormwater management measures. As a stormwater utility
charging customers to cover the cost of
stormwater management, Philadelphia
has chosen to provide an incentive to
commercial and industrial landowners
by tying the monthly stormwater bill
to the amount of runoff-generating
impervious surfaces on their sites. In
addition, PWD has developed grant
programs offering funds directly to
private landowners and developers
to retrofit existing roofs and parking
lots. Some of these retrofits can be
performed more cost-effectively than
they could be on public land, providing equivalent water quality benefits
per unit of drainage area although not
always providing equivalent community amenities.
Modeling, Monitoring and Maintenance. PWD has developed a green
infrastructure maintenance program
to ensure the continuing function of
the GI systems, as well as to facilitate
continued public and political support
for the program. PWD has also developed a comprehensive monitoring
program to collect data on precipitation, sewer flow, and water level in
green infrastructure systems. Synthetic
runoff events using fire hydrants are
used to generate inflows for monitoring as a supplement to natural events
and to reduce uncertainty in interpreting the measurements. Monitoring results are used in development
of regulatory compliance reporting
metrics, as inputs to hydrologic and
hydraulic models, and for internal
tracking and budgeting purposes. A
challenge in scaling up the monitoring program has been defining a level
of detail that allows cost-effective data
collection on a large number of sites.
PWD has met this challenge by focusing data collection efforts on water
level observations, rotating monitoring
equipment between sites, and limiting
the length of deployment to any one
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A typical rain garden installed
as a â&#x20AC;&#x153;bump outâ&#x20AC;? along a street
in Philadelphia (photo credit:
Philadelphia Water Department)

site. More detailed hydrologic analysis
is being performed on a small number
of research sites in conjunction with
academic partners.

University, to facilitate continuing education of staff and to conduct leadingedge research.

Computer modeling plays a role
in design, long-term planning and
regulatory compliance reporting. The
modeling and monitoring programs
are closely coordinated, as hydrologic,
hydraulic and water quality models
must be validated against field observations before being used for projections
of performance and compliance status
under future conditions. A key challenge as the green infrastructure program has scaled up has been increasing
the level of sophistication and detail in
green infrastructure modeling to make
full use of implementation data sets,
and integrating green infrastructure
modeling with models of the traditional collection and treatment system.

As Philadelphia enters the sixth year
of implementing its combined sewer
overflow management agreement with
regulatory agencies, it has successfully
met many of the challenges of transitioning from an early demonstration
phase to a City-wide green infrastructure
program. These included development
of data management systems; hiring and
training of planning and design staff;
development of relationships with public agencies, academic researchers, and
the public; refinements to design standards, regulations, and incentives; and
increases in monitoring, maintenance,
and computer modeling capabilities.
As the program continues to adapt and
mature, it will continue refining practices in all these areas in order to increase
cost-effectiveness of green infrastructure
implementation and operation, and to
integrate the practices with traditional
infrastructure components to meet regulatory requirements.

Continuing Education, Research,
and Innovation. While the program
has moved from pilot to full-scale
implementation, PWD recognizes
that the academic and professional
specialty of green infrastructure is still
developing and that continuing education is important to keep staff abreast
of developments in the field. PWD has
partnered with nationally recognized
research programs at two area universities, Villanova University and Drexel

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Moving Forward

Dwayne Myers can be reached at (215) 2396453 or myersrd@cdmsmith.com; Mark
Maimone can be reached at (516) 496-8400
or maimonem@cdmsmith.com; Tiffany
Ledesma can be reached at (215) 435-9932
or ledesmatd@cdmsmith.com.

Benjamin Cohen
Senior Associate
Quantified Ventures
Washington, D.C.

T

Environmental Impact
Bonds: Building on
DC Water’s approach
to deploy innovative
public works projects

he need for
innovative public
works financing

The American Society
of Civil Engineers estimates
that investment in our country’s infrastructure is lagging
by over $200 billion per year.
Much of this infrastructure is
outdated and not well maintained. At the same time, many
city managers and public
works departments are seeking
ways to innovate and implement projects that produce
higher impact to communities
Fig 1. Generalized illustration of Environmental Impact Bond structure
and environmental services,
of environmental outcomes, rather than on set financing
and build resilience to long-term
terms. In doing so, EIBs align incentives around perforenvironmental and economic stresses. However, as newer
mance and innovation by compensating public entities if
solutions, these projects may be seen as too risky to deploy
these projects fail to meet outcomes.
using traditional financing.
Environmental Impact Bonds (EIBs), a new form of Pay-forSuccess (PFS) financing, offer a solution to meet this gap,
because they help public managers de-risk piloting and scaling innovative solutions, access new and additional sources
of capital, and monitor performance outcomes to inform
future planning. Derived from similar PFS financing tools in
the social sector, EIBs feature an upfront provision of capital
from investors that is repaid based on the achievement

DC Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water) issued the first
EIB in September 2016—also the first PFS transaction to
be issued as an actual municipal bond—with structuring
support from Quantified Ventures. DC Water’s EIB serves
as a model for future replication of and improvement on
these creative financing structures, to support greater
deployment impact-oriented public works projects like
resilient infrastructure.
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DC Water’s Environmental Impact Bond
Washington, D.C., like 771 other communities across the
U.S., was built with a combined sewer and stormwater system. The system’s capacity is sufficient to carry both streams
in dry conditions and in minor precipitation events. But in
heavier rainfall events, the system backs up, causing mixed
raw sewage and stormwater to discharge out of 53 outfalls
along the Potomac River, Anacostia River, and Rock Creek.
Since the combined system was initially constructed in the
1870s, rainfall in the District has increased both overall and
in frequency of severe events. The associated increase in the
city’s combined sewer overflow problem led the EPA to take
enforcement action, mandating a Long Term Control Plan
to manage these overflows through a 2005 Consent Decree.
The result, the 25-year Clean Rivers Project, was originally
envisioned as a $2.6 billion capital program centered around
the construction of three large stormwater tunnels. But
about 10 years later, DC Water became interested in green
infrastructure to replace one of the “grey” tunnel projects
completely, and part of another, potentially offsetting some
of the $736 million these projects would cost.
Green infrastructure, which includes bioswales, permeable pavement, rain gardens, green roofs, and planters, is
designed to mimic natural systems by capturing stormwater
onsite rather than diverting it away. As an innovation-minded utility, DC Water was interested in both the potential savings of green vs. grey infrastructure, as it is often more cost
effective at managing stormwater, as well as the additional
economic, community, environmental, and health benefits
it confers. The EPA amended DC Water’s Consent Decree in
2015 to allow the Authority to replace some of its planned
grey infrastructure with green.
While DC Water was confident in the benefits of green infrastructure, it recognized that it carried some performance

Fig 2. Performance cases of the DC Water Environmental Impact Bond

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risk, as it hadn’t been tested at this scale and its functionality
is dependent on local conditions. DC Water turned to Quantified Ventures to structure a transaction that would allow
it to transfer this risk to investors, and conserve limited
public funds in case of non-performance. The resulting $25
million, 30-year EIB was issued in September 2016, with proceeds used to pilot a portion of the green infrastructure that
would offset the grey tunnel projects (20 acres out of 365).
It was bought in a private placement by Goldman Sachs’
Urban Investment Group and the Calvert Foundation.
The EIB covers three performance cases—a base case, a
downside, and an upside—and was designed with protecting DC Water’s cost of borrowing in mind. For the first five
years of the bond, DC Water pays a coupon rate of 3.43%,
like its traditional municipal offerings. During year 5, the
performance of the green infrastructure in capturing stormwater is measured as compared to a baseline, with the result
determining the performance case. In the downside case,
the bond investors pay $3.3 million to DC Water (netting to
an effective 0.5% interest rate). In the upside case, the payment goes the other way, with DC Water paying $3.3 million
to the investors (netting to an effective 6.0% interest rate).
In the base case, no performance payment is made either
way. After the five-year evaluation period, the bond will be
refinanced on the secondary market.
The design of the EIB ensures that DC Water benefits in
any of the three cases—in the downside case, it is subsidized for non-performance; in the base case, it pays
similarly to a traditional bond but with the added benefit
of risk protection; in the upside case, though it must make
an additional payment, it has demonstrated that green
infrastructure is highly cost effective at managing stormwater, and can realize cost savings by scaling to 365 acres.
In addition, DC Water benefits by building an evidence
base for green infrastructure through the performance

evaluation fundamental to the structure of the EIB. Not
only does the EIB necessitate measurement of captured
stormwater and avoided runoff—the primary outcome to
determine performance—but also stipulates the monitoring of secondary outcomes like job creation.

help public works departments meet the growing infrastructure financing gap and catalyze greater deployment of
high-impact projects.
Benjamin Cohen can be reached at (202) 734-3712 or cohen@
quantifiedventures.com.

Beyond DC Water: The future of Environmental
Impact Bonds
The total impact investment market is currently valued at
$114 billion, but impact investors frequently cite challenges
around a lack of both viable transactions and impact evaluation. At the same time, many public works departments
struggle to deploy projects that are high-impact, but may be
seen as too risky. EIBs are a tool that can help solve both ends
of this equation, and building off of lessons learned from DC
Water, new municipalities are exploring their potential to
unstick “stuck” problems.
For example, last summer, 25 cities across the U.S. competed to win the support of the Rockefeller Foundation in
structuring EIBs not just for green infrastructure, but other
resilience-building projects such as affordable housing,
microgrids, and alternative power generation. The Kresge
Foundation is supporting communities in the Chesapeake
Bay watershed develop EIBs to mitigate
water quality issues in the Bay. Municipalities located near agricultural areas
are interested in EIBs to test whether
paying upstream farmers to implement
better management practices is more
cost effective at managing nutrient
runoff than investing in additional
treatment facilities. And coastal
communities may benefit from EIBs
to finance wetland projects, linking
payments to the success of outcomes
related to land restoration and flood
risk reduction.

Upcoming Click, Listen & Learn webinar:
“Innovative Financing for Water Resources”
Water resource infrastructure financing faces
many challenges in today’s market, from impacts
due to promoted and executed efficiencies of
operations by customers to mandates for pollution
reduction through implementation of green
stormwater infrastructure. DC Water’s Use of Green
Environmental Bonds and small communities’
approach for access to State Revolving Funds and
P3 will be discussed.
February 22, 2018 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Central
(800) 848-APWA or www.apwa.net
Bridge closed sign

NATIONAL
PUBLIC
WORKS
WEEK

Future EIBs may build off the DC
Water example in other ways, for
example by siting the location of
green infrastructure or other projects
based on community impacts and not
just hydrologic considerations, and
by issuing EIBs in public, rather than
private, placements, helping municipalities access a much broader base
of investors, and potentially lowering
rates. All these new directions may
improve the effectiveness of EIBs to

onstruction is an occupation
with potential health hazards,
and protecting workers and
the public from injury is paramount to successful projects,
business, and is ethically the right
thing to do. In October 2017, a 22-yearold construction worker died on a
cured-in-place-pipe (CIPP) sanitary
sewer worksite in Streamwood, Illinois.
This tragedy is being investigated by
the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA).
That same month the National Environmental Health Association hosted
a free online webinar entitled “Public
Health Implications and Occupational
Exposures during Water Pipe Repair
Activities” focusing on CIPP. Shortly
before this webinar, the California
Department of Public Health warned
of previously unaddressed worker and
public health risks and the potential
for chemical exposures to cause health
impacts. In September 2017, the California Department of Public Health
also made several recommendations
to municipalities and health departments. Two noteworthy statements
are: “Utilities, engineering firms, and
CIPP contractors should not tell residents
the exposures are safe” and “Persons who
detect an odor and experience health symptoms should contact their medical provider

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and local health department” – California
Department of Public Health, September 2017

New CIPP safety study and public
works sector implications
Recently, a research study about CIPP
technology worksite safety and chemical emissions was published in the
American Chemical Society’s peerreview journal of Environmental Science
and Technology Letters. The report
“Worksite Chemical Air Emissions and
Worker Exposure during Sanitary Sewer
and Stormwater Pipe Rehabilitation
Using Cured-in-Place-Pipe (CIPP)” and
associated videos are freely available
online (published on July 26, 2017,
DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.7b00237). The
study was funded by the U.S. science
agency National Science Foundation,
Purdue University, and crowdfunding
donations. The testing was prompted
by indications that chemical exposures to workers and nearby public
may cause health impacts. The lack of
public and rigorous air testing studies
at CIPP worksites underscored the need
for independent testing.
The Purdue University study summarized all prior publicly available CIPP
worksite air testing studies. While CIPP
technology has been used in the U.S.
for the past 30 years, only a few studies were available—all for steam CIPP

installations. None of those studies
had undergone independent scientific
review. No air testing studies were
found for either ultraviolet (UV) lightor hot water-CIPP installations, two
other CIPP processes. Each study had
some valuable information, and lacked
technical details where results could be
translated to other CIPP installations
for best practices.
Publicly reported air contamination
incidents associated with CIPP installations, 59 of them, were summarized
in the study. Some incidents involved
illness complaints, building evacuations, emergency service personnel
responses, and in many cases were
reported in the press. Since the study
was published, more air contamination incidents have occurred in Nyack,
N.Y.; Dublin, Calif.; Lee’s Summit,
Mo.; Beaver, Penn.; and San Diego,
Calif., and involved an elementary
school and residences.
During the 2017 field study, sanitary
sewer and storm sewer CIPP worksites were monitored in Indiana and
California. Testing revealed that during

steam-cured CIPP installations, many
types of materials were created and
released into the air. These materials
included particulates, droplets, partially cured resin, organic vapors, and
water vapor. While historically referred
to as “steam” (and thus implying only
water vapor), the emission was instead
a “multi-phase mixture” or emission
cloud. A variety of volatile organic
compounds, VOCs, and semi-volatile
organic compounds, SVOCs, were
measured in the emission cloud. These
included suspected carcinogens, hazardous air pollutants, suspected endocrine disrupting compounds, and other
unidentified compounds. Some of the
compounds included acetophenone,
benzaldehyde, benzoic acid, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), 4-tertbutylcyclohexanol, 4-tert-butylcyclohexanone, dibutyl phthalate (DBP),
phenol, styrene, and 1-tetradecanol.
These chemicals include materials used
for CIPP manufacture, in addition to
chemicals created and emitted into the
air during the manufacturing process.
Non-styrene compounds contributed
to chemical toxicity for mouse lung

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cells. Further description of the results
can also be found on the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Science Blog entitled “Cured-in-PlacePipe (CIPP): Inhalation and Dermal
Exposure Risks Associated with Sanitary Sewer, Storm Sewer, and Drinking
Water Pipe Repairs.”

What engineering companies and
municipalities can do
Because limited information is available about the chemical exposure risks
and their severity, immediate upgrades
in worker and public safety are recommended. Many of the 60-plus air
contamination incidents associated
with CIPP installations indicate that
chemical emissions can cause adverse
health effects. Available incident and
worksite testing data indicates health
impacts can occur. While research
efforts continue at Purdue University and other organizations begin to
evaluate worker and public exposures,
immediate worksite and public safety
changes should be implemented.
Changes should include what defines
qualified CIPP contractors, construc-

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55

tion specifications, worksite safety,
and public notification practices. Until
more is known, the persons at or near
CIPP sites should:

evaluations can also help demonstrate
to an organization’s employees and
potential customers that public health
and safety is paramount.

1. Minimize dermal and inhalation
exposures,

The necessary PPE posture for workers
and site visitors will depend on the
CIPP application. For example, UV
light exposure is a concern at UV-CIPP
installation sites, and at steam and hot
water CIPP installation sites, burn/
scalding risks exist. Materials emitted
into the air (either above ground or
through buried pipes into buildings)
may pose inhalation and dermal exposure risks. In the future, PPE lists might
be developed for separate processes if
enough credible and independently
verified evidence was developed. At
present, this information is lacking.
For example, differences in what raw
materials are used, how those materials
are handled, curing conditions, environmental conditions, and post-installation practices may result in chemical
emission differences.

2. Use appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) specific to
the type of CIPP installation,
3. Monitor emissions using real-time
monitors coupled with grab sampling, and
4. Capture emissions and confirm
this by appropriate chemical
monitoring.
The most rapid approach to improve
safety is not allowing emissions to
exit the CIPP being installed. Related
language can be inserted into bid documents.
Municipalities, as a minimum bid
qualification for pipe repair installations, should consider requiring that
companies complete National Institute
of Safety and Health (NIOSH) health
hazard evaluations and provide verification. NIOSH evaluations involve
onsite testing, a hazard evaluation,
and NIOSH-issued recommendations
for improving safety. By extension,
any NIOSH recommendations to the
contractor may help minimize chemical exposures to site visitors (municipal
and consulting firm employees) and
the general public. As of December
2017, at least one forward-thinking
CIPP company has formally requested
NIOSH assistance. NIOSH has previously assisted other industries with
understanding and improving worker
safety, and stands ready to assist the
infrastructure sector. By requiring
NIOSH health hazard evaluations as a
condition of the bid process, municipalities and consulting engineers could
expedite evaluations of worksite safety
that would also impact their own
employees. The conduct of NIOSH

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The 60-plus air contamination incidents that were publicly reported were
often due to the general public being
chemically exposed and sometimes
reporting illness symptoms. To be
proactive in health protection, municipalities should pre-notify the health
department every time a CIPP installation is conducted. As a condition of
the bid document, contractors should
provide residents contact information
for the health department should they
need to report problems. “Utilities,
engineering firms, and CIPP contractors
should not tell residents the exposures are
safe” – California Department of Public
Health, 2017

Learn from the past
No one should lose their life repairing water pipes or have their health
compromised because of hazardous
chemical exposures. Historically, there
are ample examples of workers or the
public being unknowingly exposed to
construction-related toxicants; in ret-

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rospect, only to discover adverse health
impacts later in life. For this reason,
immediate worksite safety upgrades
are recommended. Failure to act today
may place the public, municipal and
consulting firm employees and CIPP
workers at unnecessary risk.
Upgrading safety practices in response
to health concerns is a natural progression in the public works sector.
For example, when drinking water is
contaminated, boil water or water use
restriction orders are often issued to
protect the public until more testing
data can be obtained (see the 2014
West Virginia Chemical Spill). There
are many other examples. A similar
proactive approach should be applied
to CIPP technology. CIPP technology
can likely be used without endangering
human health or the environment if
appropriate safeguards are instituted.
Purdue University researchers continue
to aid those interested in worker and
public safety. The researchers have
assisted health and worker safety agencies, municipalities, transportation
and environmental agencies, consulting firms, CIPP companies, and CIPP
workers. Additional information can
be obtained by visiting https://engineering.purdue.edu/CIPPSafety. It is
their hope that other researchers and
industry stakeholders will collect and
publish relevant health, safety, and
environmental data.
Andrew Whelton can be reached at awhelton@purdue.edu; John Howarter can be
reached at howarter@purdue.edu.
The National Association of Sewer
Service Companies (NASSCO) has
also initiated a study focused on the
potential safety impacts associated
with CIPP lining. Phase 1 of their
research project kicked off on
December 1, 2017, and is expected
to conclude in April 2018. More
information about this project can be
found at: https://www.nassco.org/.

Advancing asset management
in bite-sized pieces

B

James Strayer, P.E., Director of
Planning and Asset Management,
Program Manager, Black & Veatch,
San Marcos, California; Dan
Brogadir, P.E., Public Works
Manager, San Diego County Sanitation
District, San Diego, California

eing just one part of a large
diverse organization does not
mean you can’t take a big leap
into your own asset management. It is hard to pinpoint
the exact moment when the San Diego
County Sanitation District (the District) embraced asset management, but
the move is starting to yield beneficial
changes. In 2017 the District committed further, embarking on a multi-year
program to build on current successes
and expand into new areas.

The County’s Wastewater System
The District performs public works
functions to manage several wastewater systems within the County of
San Diego and provides sewer service
to nearly 36,000 customers in the
unincorporated areas of the county.
Wastewater from the communities
of Alpine, East Otay Mesa, Lakeside,

Spring Valley, and Winter Gardens, is
conveyed through a network of collector pipes, trunk lines, and pump
stations to the City of San Diego’s Point
Loma Treatment Plant for treatment
and disposal. Wastewater from the rural
communities of Julian, Pine Valley, and
Campo is conveyed to nearby Districtoperated wastewater treatment plants
for treatment and disposal. The District’s sanitary sewer system consists of
approximately 432 miles of sewer lines,
8,200 manholes, eight pump stations,
and three wastewater treatment plants.

Launching the Asset
Management Program
The District’s asset management effort
is essentially a journey from old ways
to a new vision embracing asset management. Old ways were informal, reactive, and focused on data collection.
Like most agencies, the District has

Focus Area

Specific Program
Focus

Benefits

Defendable CIP
Investment Process

A new risk-based Capital
Prioritization Tool for
Prioritizing Inspections
and CIPs
New computerized
maintenance
management system
(CMMS)
Compile past CCTV
work, supplement with
new priority CCTV
inspections, and plan
work to cover the
remaining system.

• A more efficient and documented work order
system
• Ability to see and use asset history to make
better decisions
• An eyes on assessment of each pipe to get the
most out of each asset
• A repeatable, documented process and
inventory record

Table 1. Phase 1 Program Focus. In 2017, the San Diego County Sanitation District launched a three-year program focused on organizational betterment through asset
management.

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limited resources and a large workload.
A good team optimizes these limited
resources and systems and, after seeing
early asset management successes such
as their investments in improving their
GIS asset database, they expanded the
efforts into a systematic program. In
2017, the District engaged Black &
Veatch to lead the multi-year program.
The District and program manager
identified initial areas to focus on (see
Table 1). The approach was to break the
program into bite-sized pieces for the
District—a relatively small agency—to
build on.

Management began to focus on and
talk about risk, consequence, and how
to drive inspections and development
of the District’s capital improvement
program (CIP).

Risk Discussions Lead to Early Win

2. Create Closed-Circuit Television
(CCTV) Packages. Group pipes
into practical packages based on
priority. It does not make economic sense to jump around videoing
individual high priority pipes. The
District used the priorities identified in Step 1 above to decide what
to video first.

One of the first tasks in the program
was to compile asset data and prepare a
risk-based capital prioritization. In the
past, the District had used criteria frequently found in likelihood-of-failure
(LoF) analyses—including age, material, and known operational issues.
However, the efforts were limited, and
the justification for the priorities was
considered lacking. Workshops facilitated the paradigm shift necessary to
broaden consideration of what could
cause failures. The team added consequence-of-failure (CoF) components to
the analysis, which yielded an initial
risk-based profile for all the District’s
pipelines.
After the workshop, District management personnel noticed an immediate
difference in the way they talked about
assets. It was a change in approach
from independent operations, maintenance, and engineering viewpoints to
a risk-based, asset-centric viewpoint.

The capital prioritization process is
robust and can be used for different
purposes in the inspection and CIP
stages (see Figure 1). The process has
four basic steps:
1. Identify Individual Pipe Risks.
Prioritize pipelines for inspections
by using agreed-upon CoF and LoF
criteria (see Figure 2).

3. Update Individual Pipe Data.
Update the risk matrix on an
individual pipe basis using actual
condition from the CCTV or other
inspections. This step reprioritizes
needs based on actual observed
conditions.
4. Grouping CIP Projects. Package projects into thoughtful CIP
projects, noting that there are
more considerations than just
priority. For example, combining
a top-priority pipe with a slightly
lower-priority pipe nearby minimizes community impacts.

Figure 1. Capital Prioritization Process for Inspections and CIPs

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Current Challenges Constructing
a New CMMS
The District has been making do with
a mostly-paper, maintenance management system and with limited
resources was not sure how to tackle
development and implementation
of a much-needed new computerized
system. As the program launched, the
District selected the Cityworks webbased, computerized maintenance
management system (CMMS). Implementation workshops began in May
2017. The District quickly discovered
there is more to implementing a new
CMMS than simply uploading or even
installing and configuring new software. Establishing effective workflows
and building stakeholder relationships
with users are essential to support a
CMMS investment and ensure adoption and use of the system.
The District’s first configuration workshop was two and a half days long and
focused on configuring software and
closing workflow gaps. Ensuing workshops will include the most important
step: integrating the entire operations
group into the process. Although the
process is not yet complete, it has been
exciting to see the level of engagement
and anticipation of both operations
and engineering staff increasing as the
launch of the new CMMS approaches.

Sage Steps
Still in the early stages of its journey,
the District understands that there are
many steps and challenges ahead. As
an organization relatively new to asset
management, the District offers this

International
Perspective

A

good place to start in asset
management is to build internal capacity and understanding
of asset management principles.
Old ways CAN focus too much on
never-ending data collection.
By drafting your first asset management plan, you will get a better
understanding of data needs,
future asset renewal costs, and the
trade-offs required between risk,
cost and levels of service (performance).
You can develop your organization’s draft asset management
plan while you earn your qualification, using the asset data you have
already collected as the starting
point. Part of drafting an asset
management plan is to also identify the next steps in your improvement journey.

Figure 2. Initial Capital Prioritization Matrix of District Pipeline Assets. Each point represents an
individual pipeline.

The IPWEA Professional Certificate
in Asset Management Planning
is an online program of eight
modules delivered over ten weeks.
It is an engaging interactive course
delivered using live (also recorded)
sessions, discussion forums, howto-videos and two assignments.
The coursework will guide you to
develop your draft asset management plan with international tools
and templates that have proven
application in Canada and the
United States.

San Diego County is implementing a rigorous asset management program that includes new
information systems, systematic condition assessment, and improvement of aging infrastructure
for wastewater-system public works. (Photo credit: Black & Veatch)

advice: Don’t be intimidated. The great
thing about asset management is how
an agency can take it on in manageable
pieces. After tackling informationsystem improvement and risk-based
capital prioritization, the District is
shifting its focus to systematic condition assessment and evaluation of
managerial, operations, and other asset
management policies and procedures.
Early asset management efforts have

been helpful in identifying gaps. The
District has laid a foundation for a process that can be built on year after year
and expanded into other areas that will
drive value for the county’s ratepayers
for decades to come.
James Strayer can be reached at (760)
621-8537 or strayerjj@bv.com; Dan Brogadir can be reached at (858) 694-2714 or
daniel.brogadir@sdcounty.ca.gov.

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For information on the next
course, starting soon, visit www.
ipwea.org/certificate, or e-mail
chris.champion@ipwea.org.
– Contributed by Chris Champion,
Director International, Institute of
Public Works Engineering Australasia
(IPWEA)

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Celebrating the value of water

Campaign graphic created by the Value of Water Campaign

Angelina Zulkic
Communications
Coordinator
Concord General Services
City of Concord,
New Hampshire

Imagine a Day without Water
Imagine if you woke up one morning
to no tap water. That means no shower,
no handwashing, no teeth brushing—
or worse, no coffee. What would you
do? Now imagine an entire day with
no water. Unpleasant, right? Water is a
natural resource available (to most of us)
right at our fingertips, but sometimes
we don’t miss something until it’s gone.
There is a massive network of underground water systems that work 24/7

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to distribute water to and from homes,
schools, hospitals, and businesses.
Since these systems are underground
and out of sight, they are often out of
mind as well. The Value of Water Campaign is a coalition of top leaders in
the water industry working to educate
and inspire the nation about the value
of water and the need for investment.
They host an annual national campaign
titled, “Imagine a Day Without Water,”
to raise awareness about the importance
of water in our daily lives and what even

Concord Celebrates Water
Concord General Services (the City
of Concord, New Hampshire’s public
works department) participated in
the “Imagine a Day Without Water”
campaign, hosted on October 12, 2017,
by performing educational outreach on
the importance of water and investing
in infrastructure. Concord General Services promoted the campaign by inviting the community to celebrate water.
Campaign information and ways for
residents to celebrate were advertised
across various media, including City
website content, newsletters, press
releases, water bill stuffers, and social
media. The hashtag #ValueWater was
established for this campaign and was
included in all social media posts. The
Value of Water Campaign also provided
helpful campaign graphics and a video
on their website that Concord General

Services included in their Facebook and
Twitter posts leading up to and during
the day of the event.
A proclamation was signed by Mayor
Jim Bouley in recognition of the
campaign to acknowledge the value
of water and importance of continued
investment in infrastructure to protect
water resources. The public was invited
to attend an open house on October
12 at the City’s water treatment facility
and main wastewater treatment facility
to learn more about the community’s
water resources.
In addition, Concord General Services
reached out to local schools to organize
personal tours of the City’s water facilities. Approximately 180 sixth graders
from Merrimack Valley Middle School
and 54 high schoolers (part of the
Concord Regional Technical Center)
attended tours geared toward educational interests during the following
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week of October. The middle school
students received a brief overview of
facility operations, a demonstration
of water equipment vehicles, and
a water conservation exhibit. High
school students of the technical center
received a more detailed operations
tour with more focus on the mechanics, technology, and skills required to
work at the facilities. Both tours were
well received by students and teachers,
who now further appreciate and understand what happens to water before it
enters and after it leaves their school
or home. Reaching these students not
only engages them to think about their
water supply, but could also encourage
them to one day work in the industry
or become future policymakers to make
a difference.

Concord Water
Concord, New Hampshire, has approximately four million gallons of water
travel through its water distribution
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Concord Regional Technical Center students learning
about operations at Concord’s water treatment facility

system each day to provide the community with access to clean tap water.
Concord General Services maintains
approximately 172 miles of distribution pipe to keep resources constantly
flowing to the estimated 12,000 service
connections in the city. To further
commit to providing the highest
quality of water beyond the minimum
standards set by the Environmental
Protection Agency, the City of Concord
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is a member of the American Water
Works Association’s Partnership for
Safe Water. Wastewater is collected
through roughly 168 miles of sanitary
sewer pipe to recover water and biosolid resources and protect the quality
of the Merrimack River.
By prohibiting all recreational activity
on Penacook Lake, the primary water
source for the Concord community

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since 1951, Concord is a leader in New
Hampshire source water protection.
It is the only lake in New Hampshire
that prohibits access to provide a barrier of protection for Concord’s water
consumers, qualifying the raw water as
a “Class A” body of water. The City of
Concord also employs a water conservation technician to actively survey the
City’s water system for any potential
water leaks and implement conserva-

Concord, New Hampshire’s main water supply, Penacook Lake

tion strategies. Concord is committed
to protecting and providing the highest
quality of water resources.

Investing in Water Infrastructure
Water is a vital component to public
health, safety, and even economic
activity. Unfortunately, infrastructure
systems that transport this valuable resource are aging and meeting
increasing demand with growing

communities. Consistent funding is
essential to maintaining and upgrading infrastructure to protect resources
for future generations.

have to imagine a day without water.

The City of Concord continues to
invest in drinking water and wastewater systems to secure sustainable
resources for its growing community. If
we all remember the value of water and
invest in infrastructure, then we won’t
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Find more information about the City
of Concord’s water system at www.
concordnh.gov/water or wastewater
system at www.concordnh.gov/
wastewater.
Angelina Zulkic can be reached at (603)
230-3907 or azulkic@concordnh.gov.

hen the long-term forecast
models of Hurricane Irma
started to place Florida
well within the probable paths, Gainesville
was one of countless cities and local
municipalities that started to ramp
up plans to deal with what was look-

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ing to be a catastrophic landfall. Irma
churned across the Atlantic and into
the Caribbean as a Category 5, weakening briefly as a Category 4 leaving
a wake of destruction. Being in north
central Florida, it is a rare occurrence
to get a major hurricane directly across
Gainesville, yet as Irma continued to

Use of ArcGIS Online and Cityworks allowed coordination between
multiple stakeholders.

make a late northward turn, her path
was exactly that, with the landfall eve
projecting a possible Category 4 across
our area. It had been over a decade
since the last major hurricane had
passed near Gainesville, and the Public
Works Department readied some new
technology and response protocols
that had been implemented within the
last few years. This allowed for a nearly
real-time assessment during the event
as well as provided some valuable data
and self-assessment concerning infrastructure and flood-prone areas.
During such events the FEMA Incident
Command Structure (ICS) is activated
and the City of Gainesville Public
Works Department coordinates with

Citizens were able to confirm that their issues had
been reported and to watch progress as debris in the
right-of-way was cleared and as our crews responded
to flooding reports.
Alachua County, the local utility
provider, plus the various emergency
and public safety divisions within both
the city and county. Public Worksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;
main charge is clearing the public
right-of-way of tree debris, as well as
dealing with drainage and flooding
concerns. All of this is coordinated
with the various stakeholders within
the ICS, and require a consolidated,
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up-to-date synopsis of the current
situation. Public Works is also
responsible for preliminary damage
assessment of the public right-ofway that is reported to FEMA for
disaster impact calculations. Use of
ESRI GIS platforms tied to Azteca
Cityworks work management had been
implemented during the years leading
up to Irmaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s landfall, and provided the
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core of our data collection software.
IPads with cellular data connections
enabled crews in the field to update
the databases with real-time data
via Cityworks interfaces and event
specific templates.

Regardless if it is daily work orders or an emergency
event like Hurricane Irma, proper planning and use of
available technology can be a critical resource toward
providing the most important public works product:
service to the public.

Initial response and triage
Irma’s eye traveled just to the west of
Gainesville overnight on September
10. Luckily landfall and subsequent
passing over land directly up the western half of the state rapidly degraded
the major hurricane and Gainesville
only experienced gusts up to 61 mph.
Rainfall was another matter, with over
10 inches in 24 hours causing flooding. Gainesville’s Rapid Assessment
crews were ready at first light after the
storm’s passing and quickly blanketed
the area recording any downed trees,
flooding, power lines, and other public
safety issues within the rights-of-way.
Since cellular service was still up, data
was downloaded in real time to cloudbased servers via Cityworks. Staff at
Public Works began triaging the data,
assigning it through Cityworks to work
crews or forwarding it to the responsible
agency, such as the local utility. As sites
were cleared the updated status was
available for display. This was invaluable
for both work crew dispatch and public
information updates during recovery.
The data was also able to be dispersed
to stakeholders and public via ArcGIS
Online applications and maps.

Catching a moment in time
As the initial triage and FEMA reporting was taking place, another desire
became known. The rainfall had culminated into what was looking to be
a “100 year” storm event for the area.
Such an event is rare, and provided an
opportunity to collect flood elevation data that otherwise could only
be modeled. After public safety issues
were addressed, crews were tasked to set
markers and capture photos to locate
high water marks that could later be
surveyed for accurate flood elevation
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data. Meanwhile, social media was
beginning to light up with the public
snapping photos of the unprecedented
flooding. To assist in capturing these,
a quick Gmail account was set up and
published for the public to upload photos of the flooding they were seeing.
This account was provided through
the City of Gainesville’s social media
accounts and tagged with the disclaimer that it is was only for information
collection and not for damage reporting. From this Gmail account and
crews onsite, over 240 photos covering
dozens of sites were collected. Using
both the high water marks and distinguishing objects, such as windowsills,
signs, and shrubbery heights, elevation
data was collected for the flooded areas.
Many of the privately collected photos
were instrumental as many of these
were taken at the height of the storm
when the flooding was at its peak.
Many water levels had receded before
it was safe for Public Works crews to do
site visits so utilizing this data source
was crucial in documenting the event.

Aftermath
Cityworks and Arc GIS Online coupled
with mobile data collection worked
well. The Public Works Department
published online maps, both during
the event and throughout the recovery
period. Citizens were able to confirm
that their issues had been reported and
to watch progress as debris in the rightof-way was cleared and as our crews
responded to flooding reports.
The months following Irma allowed
for time to review the flooding data as
a whole, finding patterns, and iden-

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tifying drainage system deficits. This
system knowledge will be used to proactively prepare for future storm events
and to update capital improvement
project priority lists. The documentation will be used to support applications for federal disaster and hazard
mitigation assistance. The flood elevation data collected during Hurricane
Irma has provided a means to validate
FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps, and
will be used to calibrate future hydraulic and hydrologic models we develop
for our creeks and lakes.
Regardless if it is daily work orders or an
emergency event like Hurricane Irma,
proper planning and use of available
technology can be a critical resource
toward providing the most important public works product: service to
the public. Both during and after the
storm, the data collected will provide
invaluable information to better serve
and protect the population as well as
facilitate future planning.
Andy Renshaw can be reached at (352)
393-8522 or renshawal@cityofgainesville.
org; Alice Rankeillor can be reached at
(352) 334-5072 or RankeilloAI@cityofgainesville.org.
Several online maps are available
to view:
•

ast year was a very busy year
for public works professionals
in Texas. The year brought an
extended state legislative session, earthquakes, Hurricane
Harvey, and all the issues that came
with those events. Several members of the Texas Chapter of APWA
(TPWA) participated on the stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
Public Works Response Team (PWRT)
during Harvey. TPWA is also an affiliate member of the Texas Municipal
League (TML). During and after
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Harvey, TML provided a means for
municipalities and TML affiliates to
coordinate efforts on resources and
critical needs. TML and the Texas
Commission on Environmental
Quality (TCEQ) also assisted TPWA
and municipalities through the
timely dissemination of helpful links
and contact information for various resources, state regulations and
federal programs. As a result, TPWA
members from all over the state were
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67

materials to assist those cities most
affected by Harvey.
During Harvey the media covered
several of the heroic efforts that took
place, consisting of assistance from
the “Cajun Navy,” support from linemen from all over the country, and
support in sheltering and food efforts.
Some of the specific public works acts
that you may not have heard about
were the public works equipment
operators transporting police through
floodwaters, turning high clearance
public works vehicles into rescue
vehicles, or the public works staff who
stayed at their facility without food to
keep their water plant running despite
being surrounded by and eventually
cut off by rising floodwaters. There are
many untold stories of public works
heroes rising to the challenge during
and after Harvey.
The City of Rowlett, Tex., is located
20 miles east of Dallas. Rowlett Public
Works is no stranger when it comes
to emergency response and having to
request assistance in times of need.
Rowlett was devastated by an EF-4
tornado on December 26, 2015. The
path of destruction was over 3.5 miles
long and a half-mile-wide debris field
that damaged over 1,100 structures.
Rowlett Public Works is forever grateful
for all the assistance we received from
our public works colleagues after such a
devastating event.
In the spirit of giving back, Rowlett
Public Works sent crews to southeast Texas to help after experiencing
Harvey, and their Assistant Emergency
Management Coordinator supported
the PWRT in TEMAT deployments
and resource management and served
in the State Operations Center (SOC)
for a few days. The crews had to be
self-sufficient, so proper planning was
imperative. Rowlett also sent a vacuum
truck, dump truck trailering a backhoe, and a service truck with the crews
to help restore water and wastewater
systems impacted by Harvey. Rowlett’s
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Some of the specific public
works acts that you may
not have heard about were
the public works equipment
operators transporting
police through floodwaters,
turning high clearance
public works vehicles into
rescue vehicles, or the
public works staff who
stayed at their facility
without food to keep their
water plant running despite
being surrounded by and
eventually cut off by rising
floodwaters.
first assignment consisted of clearing
the sanitary sewer system at the Deweyville High School in Orange, Tex. The
high school acted as a first responders
shelter. Once the high school’s sanitary
sewer system was restored, the crews
headed to Port Arthur, Tex. The City
of Port Arthur requested assistance to
restore the water and sanitary sewer
system and assist with worker orders
as residents returned to their homes.
These crews volunteered over 280
hours, traveled 800 miles, and slept
at Deweyville High School and a Port
Arthur water facility in order to assist
their fellow public works professionals
and fellow residents of Texas.
Those of us who have experienced a
large emergency and who have interacted with state and federal assistance
know that the response efforts after
the emergency can be just as daunting. After Harvey, the City of Houston
needed to quickly and thoroughly
assess damages to its groundwater production, storage and pumping facilities
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to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The City’s 141
groundwater sites are scattered across
the 1,660-square-mile greater Houston area, so planning, timeliness and
efficiency were critical to the effort.
Already under contract for an overall
groundwater facilities assessment
and capital improvement planning,
the City mobilized BGE, Inc. for the
damage assessment. Within two days
of being contacted by the City and
with support from its sub-consultant,
the Kalluri Group, BGE mobilized
four teams of three to four civil and
electrical engineers to visit and assess
damages at all 141 sites over a fourday period. The teams started early on
Saturday, September 9, with the intent
to capitalize on the lighter weekend
traffic and because portions of Houston’s freeways and many surface roads
were still underwater. Initially, the
teams focused on sites the City knew or
believed had been damaged.
The area was split into quadrants
and, with the navigational and access
assistance of a City operator, each team
spent the majority of the day visiting
sites and assessing damage. Assessments focused on wind and water
damage to the facilities. Wells, pumps,
tanks, building, electrical cabinets,
controls, fencing, and other site features were all observed. Damage was
documented on a standard form and
photos were taken and logged to support the assessments. High water marks
were documented using tape measures
and photos so that they could be
reestablished in the future if the visible
evidence was no longer present.
Facilities hit hardest were those along
Buffalo and Brays Bayou. Data on the
initial site assessments were collected
and processed, and the teams remobilized the following Monday and Tuesday (September 11 and 12) to complete
visits to the remaining sites. Fortunately, many of the sites suffered little
or no damage, but some were flooded

Once the emergency has passed and the road to recovery has stabilized, it is time to improve and prepare. Recognize the successes of your systems and your staff, no
matter how small. Share the lessons you learned, so others can be better prepared.

with several seeing multiple feet of
floodwater. Overall, Houston was
dedicated and successful in managing
and operating its water system, among
its many other public works services,
before, during and after the storm. As
Matthew L. Froehlich stated, “I was
proud to have been a part of helping
the City (Houston) ensure that clean,
safe drinking water could be provided
post-storm and give impacted citizens
one less issue to deal with.”
Harvey highlighted the importance of
redundancy in our public works systems and the importance of networking. Knowing where to find support
and whom to call can make all the difference, especially in time-critical situations. Some specific redundancy systems with the greatest impact included
labor, equipment, and power. In
preparation for future emergencies, ask
yourself a few questions. Do you know
if your critical infrastructure is set up in
a way for a generator to be connected
to it in the event you lose power? Have
you exercised your emergency response

as opposed to the peak of 61 that were
down on August 31, 2017; seven wastewater systems out of the 1,743 affected
by Harvey were still inoperable, which
was down from the peak of 40 that were
inoperable on September 9, 2017; and
178 Temporary Debris Management
sites in areas under Federal or State
Disaster Declaration designations.

measures such as generators, isolation
valves, and traffic control? When was
the last time you updated your emergency communication plan to verify
that people, phone numbers, and
radios have not changed? Have you
identified the abilities of and trained
your staff such that they can be used
efficiently outside their primary duty
during an emergency? Do you know
where to seek guidance and support?
For those public works professionals
in Texas still addressing the impacts
of Harvey you can go to the TCEQ’s
website (https://www.tceq.texas.gov/
response/hurricanes ) or contact the
Texas Chapter at tpwa@outlook.com.
APWA promotes public works professionals as those who create, build,
maintain and sustain our infrastructure system. Resiliency is the sum of
all those. Harvey directly impacted
Texas from August 25, 2017 through
August 29, 2017. Did you know that in
Texas, as of October 5, 2017: only two
drinking water systems out of the 2,238
affected by Harvey were still shut down,
www.apwa.net

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The devastating effects of Hurricane
Harvey were felt by millions of people,
many of whom are still on the road
to recovery. Once the emergency has
passed and the road to recovery has
stabilized, it is time to improve and
prepare. Recognize the successes of your
systems and your staff, no matter how
small. Share the lessons you learned,
so others can be better prepared. Be the
instrument of change. Be resilient.
Kristina Ramirez can be reached at (254)
501-7629 or kramirez@killeentexas.gov;
Gary Enna can be reached at (972) 4126168 or genna@rowlett.com; and Matthew
Froehlich can be reached at (281) 5588700 or mlfroehlich@browngay.com.

February 2018

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APWA Reporter

69

EDUCATION CALENDAR
For more information about these programs or to register online, visit www2.apwa.net/Events.
Program information will be updated as it becomes available.
Questions? Call the Professional Development Department at 1-800-848-APWA.

APWA members may access past Click, Listen & Learn programs from the Membersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Library at no cost. Programs can be
streamed to your computer via the link found in the library.
If you have expertise that you would like to share, please use the online Call for Presentations form to describe your expertise
and perspective on the topic. www.apwa.net/callforpresentations/

Products in the News
Tippmann Post Driving
Equipment introduces
side mount adapter for
driving u-channel posts
Tippmann Side Mount
Adapter fastens quickly
to all u-channel posts
ranging in size from 2 lb.
per foot all the way up to a
4 lb. per foot post. Whether
you are driving an 8 ft.
post or a 14 ft. post, this
adapter will allow you to
drive from a height you
are comfortable with and
your feet on the ground.
This adapter is equipped
with 11 sturdy attachment
pins, which fit all major
manufacturer u-channel hole patterns. The side mount
adapter is then held in place by a long retaining pin and
clevis. Learn more about this adapter as well as view online
video demonstrations by visiting propanehammer.com. Or
call toll free for a free brochure: (866) 286-8046.

SmartCover Systems provides real-time wireless communication solutions—connecting field to headquarters—
monitoring sewer system flows to uncover and alert agency
staff to potential damaging overflows and providing realtime condition assessment of pipelines, identifying problems before they cause failure. Example: A successful pilot
program for the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) is now
expanding to encompass the nation’s widest deployment of
SmartCover units to lower operating costs by millions of dollars, reducing pressure on customer rates. In an earlier pilot,
SAWS reduced maintenance by 94%, validating the value of
the SmartCover solution. For more information, please visit
www.smartcoversystems.com.

Apttus: the Intelligent Middle Office Platform

New STAND-UP
helps facilities
mitigate their slip
and fall liabilities
by completely clearing away slippery ice and snow pack
from their steps, walkways and ramps. STAND-UP is a
great alternative to salt around facilities since it keeps
working even after the sun goes down. STAND-UP will
not track into buildings, and it will not damage expensive
stamped concrete and brick pavers like salt can. For more
information, watch a short video of STAND-UP in action at
www.rhomar.com or call (800) 688-6221.
72

SmartCover Systems’ collection system monitoring:
a million $ idea

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February 2018

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www.apwa.net

Apttus is partnering with Carahsoft Technology Corp. to
help public sector organizations modernize cumbersome,
manually intensive contract management and approval
processes. The partnership enables Carahsoft to sell Apttus’
suite of Salesforce-compatible products to federal, state and
local government agencies. Together, Apttus and Carahsoft
will help public sector organizations accelerate the entire
contract process through automation of manual tasks like
approval processes, activity tracking, collaboration, auditing
processes, identifying relevant FAR clauses, and searching
for contracts and related task orders; contract activities for
managing GSA schedules, BPAs, IDIQs, BOAs, and GWACs;
and management and enforcement of vendor obligations.
For more information, please contact Cesar del Aguila at
cdelaguila@apttus.com.

Coldwell Solar builds, operates and manages PPA
for California utility
Coldwell Solar, one of the largest commercial-scale solar
contractors in California, offers solar construction and
system management services for public and not-for-profit
utilities. One of Coldwell Solar’s recent projects is a pair of
1 MW solar installations for Sonoma Clean Power (SCP), a
not-for-profit clean energy provider serving Sonoma and
Mendocino counties. Coldwell Solar will lease the property,
build, operate and manage the systems and provide power to
SCP under a Power Purchase Agreement. Ground was broken
on the projects on August 31 in Petaluma, California. For
more information, please visit www.coldwellsolar.com.

OPW introduces
the scalable Petro
Vend 200 Fuel Island
Terminal
OPW Fuel Management
Systems has introduced
its new Petro Vend 200
(PV200) Fuel Island
Terminal, which features
many modular options
that make it scalable for a
wide range of unattended
fueling needs. As a nextgeneration solution in
OPW’s new PV Family of
Fuel Control Solutions,
the PV200 provides stateof-the-art, 24-hour fuel
control to unattended
commercial fleet fueling
operations, big or small.
The terminal offers the
versatility of many à la
carte options, including
dual card reader operation,
an alpha keyboard and a
receipt printer. The PV200
is available in three pedestal sizes, including sizes
that meet Americans with

APWA Tennessee Chapter names Lebanon
gasification plant top project in state
The Lebanon Gasification Initiative has received the
2017 Project of the Year honors from the APWA Tennessee
Chapter. This award recognizes a project in a Tennessee city
that epitomizes outstanding planning, construction, and
management. At the heart of the initiative is the world’s
largest downdraft gasification plant designed and built by
Aries Clean Energy. Like many cities this size, Mayor Bernie
Ash says tackling the solid waste issue is best done taking
one step at a time. He sees this waste-to-energy plant as the
first step toward a total MRF (material recovery facility) line
for the city’s waste. For more information, please visit www.
ariescleanenergy.com.

World’s Most
Ultra-Rugged LTE
Smartphones
The Sonim XP7 for public
safety is FirstNet network
compatible equipped to
operate on both commercial
and 700 MHz Band Class
14 LTE wireless spectrums.
This ultra- rugged, LTE/
WiFi/Android smartphone is
outfitted with features such
as a touchscreen that can
be viewed in direct sunlight
as well as a numeric keypad
that can be easily used with
gloves. An extra loud speaker,
noise cancellation, powerful
battery, resistance to drops
and water, and a three-year
comprehensive warranty are
just some features of the XP7 that provide peace of mind to
enterprises and workers alike. Access to vertical enterprise
worker safety and productivity applications as well as a full
suite of industrial-grade accessories completes the solution.
For more information, please contact Heath Meyer at pr@
sonimtech.com.
www.apwa.net

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February 2018

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APWA Reporter

73

PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY
KEEP YOUR SAND AND SALT COVERED WITH A
Post Pulling
CLEARSPAN STRUCTURE
Made Easy!

The deadline to reserve your space is February 9
Don’t miss this opportunity to advertise in the March issue which
focuses on solid waste collection and disposal, recycling, waste
reduction and air quality.
Bonus: Advertise and we’ll give you a free listing in our “Products in the News” column!

The materials are due by February 13
Call Fox Associates at (312) 644-3888
www.apwa.net

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February 2018

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APWA Reporter

75

WORLD OF PUBLIC WORKS CALENDAR
UPCOMING APWA EVENTS

National Public Works Week: May 20–26, 2018

PWX

Always the third full week in May. For more information,
contact David Dancy at (800) 848-APWA or send e-mail to
ddancy@apwa.net.

2018 Aug. 26–29
2019 Sept. 8–11

Kansas City, MO
Seattle, WA

For more information, contact David Dancy at
(800) 848-APWA or send e-mail to ddancy@apwa.net.

North American Snow Conference
2018 May 6–9

Indianapolis, IN

For more information, contact Brenda Shaver at
(800) 848-APWA or send e-mail to bshaver@apwa.net.

When you contact an advertiser regarding a product, please tell them you saw their ad
in the APWA Reporter. Thanks! – The Editor
Legend: IFC = Inside Front Cover; IBC = Inside Back Cover; BC = Back Cover

Advance Metalworking Co., Inc., p. 74
www.advancemetalworking.com

GVM Snow Equipment, p. 74

Best Management Products, p. 24

MRL Equipment Company, Inc., p. 75

www.gvminc.com

www.bmpinc.com

www.markritelines.com

Bonnell Industries, p. 75

Precision Concrete Cutting, p. 74

www.bonnell.com

www.SafeSidewalks.com

Camosy Construction, p. 74

RHOMAR Industries, Inc., p. 29

www.camosy.com

www.rhomar.com

Cargill Deicing, p. 15

Roll-Rite LLC, p. 75

www.cargilldeicing.com

www.rollrite.com

CFA Software, p. 74

Society of Municipal Arborists, p. 37

www.cfasoftware.com

www.urban-forestry.com

ClearSpan Fabric Structures, pp. 27, 74

Solid Waste Association of North America, p. 36

www.ClearSpan.com/ADAPWA

www.SWANApalooza.org

Construction Accessories, Inc., p. 74

Tippmann Industrial Products, p. BC

www.constructionaccessories.com

www.PropaneHammer.com

Easi-Set Buildings, p. 75

Track Star International Inc., p. 75

www.easisetbuildings.com

www.trackstar.com

EnviroTech Services, Inc., p. 74

Transpo Industries, Inc., p. 74

www.transpo.com

www.envirotechservices.com
76

APWA Reporter

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February 2018

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www.apwa.net

Top Selling

RESOURCES!

Public Works Management
Practices Manual (9th Ed)

More Than Everything You Need to
Know to Be a Public Works Director

It’s here—APWA’s 9th Edition of the book that has
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works agencies across North America since 1991.
Whether it is self assessment or accreditation your
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In this updated and expanded edition of an APWA
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john ostrowski
FROM MY PERSPECTIVE

Public Works Administration:
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Public Works
Administration:

SUPERVISION AND
MANAGEMENT

APWA Public Works Institute Units 1-5

Today, public works supervision and management
requires more than technical competence.
This publication—APWA’s “Yellow Book”—is designed
to help public works professionals become effective
leaders, managers, and communicators.
PB.A1699
Member $50/ Non $60

Construction Inspection: A Review
A modular text-based course for use by APWA chapters,
training consultants, government agencies, universities
and other educational organizations that wish to teach
construction inspection skills, knowledge and capabilities
through a comprehensive program.
PB.E09A (Training Package)
Member $400/Non $500
PB.E09B (Participant Guide)
Member $70/Non $90

2015 “GREENBOOK”
The Greenbook is designed to aid in furthering
uniformity of plans and specifications accepted and used
by those involved in public works construction and to
take such other steps as are designed to promote more
competitive bidding by private contractors.
PB.XGRN
Member $89.50/Non $99.50

Snow and Ice Control: Field Handbook
for Snowplow Operators
This field handbook is to help promote the
understanding of the tools, best practices and limitations
of snow and ice control. It will help you understand when
to use and when not to use these tools and practices. In
addition, it encourages progressive changes in snow and
ice control practices that will help you reduce sand/salt
use and lessen environmental impacts while meeting the
safety and mobility needs of roadway users.
PB.A1109
Member $10/Non $15

PAVER™ Software Application 7.0.7
PAVER™ is an automated pavement management
system and decision making tool for the development
of cost effective maintenance and repair alternatives
for roads and streets, parking lots, and airfields.
MP.NEW-E
Member $995/Non $1,195.00

APWA Certified Public Fleet
Professional (CPFP) Recommended
Resources
The APWA recommends these resources to help with
preparation for CPFP examination. It should not be
inferred that questions in the examination are selected
from any single reference or set of references or that
study from specific references guarantees a passing
score on the examination.
PB.A644
Member $250/Non $325

Discovering the World of Public Works
(Workbook for Children)
This Workbook for Children contains puzzles,
worksheets, word games, coloring pages, glossary,
and other activities. It is divided into two levels “ Basic
K-2nd grade and Chipper’s Challenge activities geared
to 3rd “ 5th grade.
PB.A509
Member $1.25/Non $2.25

Playtime with P.W. Paws
Filled with games, puzzles and other activities,
Playtime with P.W. Paws is an exciting and beautifully
illustrated coloring and activity book created especially
for children in grades K-5. Shaped to help children
learn more about public works in an adventurous and
new way, this is a coloring and activity book that can
be enjoyed by everyone.
PB.A1101
Member $1.25/Non $2.25

VISIT US 24/7

www.apwa.net/bookstore or call 1-800-848-2792, ext. 5282
Please allow two weeks for delivery on all orders other than expedited service.
All funds in US dollars. All prices are subject to change without notice.